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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26570620">Escarpment of the Infinite</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/MrBluebird/pseuds/MrBluebird'>MrBluebird</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Les Misérables - All Media Types, Les Misérables - Victor Hugo</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>(Terrible) First Kiss, Alien Character(s), Aliens, Alternate Universe - Science Fiction, Alternate Universe - Space, Angst, Bionic Limb, Blood and Injury, Blushing Old Men, Broken Noses, Buff Cosette, Canon-Typical Violence, Canonical Character Death (not the old men don't worry!), Fluff, Hair Braiding, Hurt Javert, Hurt/Comfort, I am so sorry Vicky, Internalized Xenophobia, Javert's Scary Smile, M/M, Pining, Prayer, Rebellion, Rescue Mission, Scars, Sexual Tension, Singing, Suicide Attempt, Tending to Wounds, Valjean's Yellow Tail-Jacket, Very Happy Epilogue, Whump, Xenophobia, a lot of crying</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-10-04</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-10-04</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 10:53:37</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>5</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>27,706</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26570620</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/MrBluebird/pseuds/MrBluebird</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <em>He could not breathe. He could not think. He had thought he would never see that man again, but here he was, face plastered across the holo-screen. With a gasp, Valjean noticed the bruising, the blood, and the sunken eyes… and the muzzle of a rifle thrust under his chin, forcing his face upwards!</em>
</p><p>Jean Valjean, escaped convict and former spaceport-owner turned father, must go on a rescue mission to save his hot-headed daughter Cosette and some boy named Marius from certain death. When Valjean unexpectedly sees a ghost from his past in great peril, he must choose between leaving him to die to find his daughter or letting Éponine carry out that task, so he may have a chance at saving the man who had once been the only trace of light in his life…</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>(Minor Background Cosette Fauchelevent/Marius Pontmercy/Éponine Thénardier), Javert/Jean Valjean</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>20</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>19</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>Sewerchat Anniversary Exchange 2020</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Recognition (Prologue)</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><ul class="associations">
      <li>For <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/anichariz/gifts">anichariz</a>.</li>



    </ul><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>So this is the first ever fic I have finished. I hope you like it!!!! The prompt really inspired me but it was broad so I let my muse take me where it wanted (which apparently involved a lot of crying Javert). I don't know if this counts as space opera so I did not tag it.</p><p>Also, I want to personally apologize to Victor Hugo's ghost. </p><p>(English is not my first language so if there are misspellings or grammatical errors feel free to inform me so I can correct them!)</p><p>CW (for the whole work): description of violence, deaths and injury, suicidal thoughts and suicide attempt, xenophobia (racism against aliens) which includes the internalized kind, very brief sequence of self-harm (a character hits themselves), very brief mention of sexual pheromones, hinted malnutrition.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    
<p></p><div class="center">
  <p>
<em>The galaxy is ruled by an oppressive regime led under the Empereur.<br/>
Non-Humans are treated like dirt and if you are poor, you have no<br/>
worth or voice at all. Those on the lower rungs of the ladder turn<br/>
desperate and seek out a life of crime. Sooner or later, they are<br/>
caught and as convicts, they are forced to labor in the mines of<br/>
prison planets, no different than slaves. Thus, the system profits<br/>
on misery, and near the core of the galaxy, the rich grow richer…</em></p>
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</div><p>Trying to quell his rising panic, Valjean let a shaking hand hover over the holo-scanner and after a moment the doors to his office opened with a swish. He threw himself inside, almost collapsing on top of his desk. A terrible, terrible thing had occurred. Fifteen minutes ago he had finished his business by the docking port and had been about to mount his hoverbike when he had seen <em>him</em>. A fragment from his past made flesh. The man had looked older, with faint lines around his mouth and a few gray strands in his hair, but those striking pale eyes upon dark skin were unmistakable. <em>Javert</em>. The only guard from Toulon whom Valjean could recall the name of. The only guard who would surely recognize him and probably had a personal vendetta against Valjean after the manner of his escape. The one person who still haunted him in both his nightmares and his <em>dreams</em>… Valjean pressed the heels of his hands against his eyes to try and stop the memories from flooding his mind, but as usual, there was no stopping the flashbacks.</p><p>The air was hot and suffocating in the underground mines of Toulon. Valjean drew a ragged breath as he lifted his pick-axe once more. They were hacking away carefully to extract the huge blocks of raw <em>duracier</em>* ore which would then be used in ship-making or as a building material. Rarely too much force against the fragile ore could create a crack in the tunnel wall, risking a collapse in the next strike. Another exhausted convict, standing beside Valjean, did precisely that; a tiny, almost invisible fissure opened from where the convict had struck, and traveled diagonally, up to the ceiling. Valjean looked around but nobody had taken notice of what had just occurred. Without thinking, he lifted his axe and struck the wall with all of his might. A deep rumbling sound issued from the wall and the ground shook as the tunnel started to collapse. Convicts began screaming and trying to run for cover, but they were chained to the ground. Valjean’s chain broke as the metal of his axe met the rusty metal chain with inhuman force. He was free! In the chaos and dust, nobody had seen what he had done. He ran towards the tunnel he knew led to the exit. The light of the opening was only a few meters away when he heard a voice behind him. </p><p>“24601, stop running!" </p><p>Fear gripped Valjean’s heart as he fastened his pace, limping to freedom. He felt the blow between his shoulder blades before his ears had even registered the sound of ignition. His whole body seized as the stun bolt struck and his limbs grew unresponsive. He fell hard on the ground, a silent scream escaping his numb lips as he landed on his nose with a resounding crack. Helpless, he could only lay there, unable to move an inch, as the sand was slowly saturated with his blood. </p><p>“Five days in Hell for this one!! Adjutant guard Javert, take him!” </p><p>Valjean heard the command, and then hands forced his arms behind and secured them in tight cuffs. If Valjean would have had control over his body, he would have tensed up at the mention of that place and started fighting the guard that hoisted him up by the arms. He would have screamed and trashed as he was dragged to the elevator to take him down to the deepest level of the mines, exclusively used to punish the disobedient, to be locked in a tiny cage in absolute darkness without food or drink. That level was closer to the core of the planet and the air was impossibly hot down there; "Hell" was a fitting name. Instead, he hung limply from the guard’s grip, his stunned body unresponsive to his inner distress. </p><p>As the elevator started to descend into the pit, Valjean could feel the trembling of the guard’s arms as he held him up with visible effort. Guards usually discarded stunned convicts on the floor of the lift, never showing the courtesy of helping them stand upright. Valjean had made this ride countless times and every time his incapacitated body had been kicked and spit at. Valjean's curiosity peaked as a jolt of the transport lolled his head backward, finally granting him a view of the guard's face.</p><p>If Valjean could have gasped in surprise, he would have. The guard looked young, around mid-twenties judging by the sparse whiskers framing his youthful face, but that was not what would have made Valjean startle. This guard, who was staring at him with unnaturally pale eyes, he was not Human. Valjean observed the dark fringe under his cap and the rest of his hair which was pulled back around the pointed ears and ended in a short braid that rested on his shoulder. The stark contrast created by the ice-blue of his irises and the bronze of his skin… it rendered Valjean breathless. After years of toiling in this wretched place, to then suddenly be presented with something so beautiful… Valjean could feel a tiny spark of long-lost hope rekindle inside his shriveled heart. As the lift descended deeper into the core, the light grew darker and the guard’s… (That was when Valjean remembered, his name was Javert!) …<em>Javert’s</em> eyes glowed with the luminescence of stars. Valjean was mesmerized. </p><p>With a jolt, the lift came to a stop and Valjean snapped out of his trance. His lungs burned with the hot air he was forced to breathe. Equally affected and breathing heavily, Javert carried him through pitch-black darkness to one of the small cells, and placed him almost gently on the hard ground, turning him on his side. The guard stood up, and in the darkness, Valjean could only see the tips of his boots inches from his face. After a while of standing still, Javert bent down again, and with a clink of metal, the cuffs that held Valjean’s wrists were released. Valjean did not dare to breathe. The guard leaned forward, took hold of his bent nose, and with a swift thug (Valjean would have flinched at the sharp pain if he had not been paralyzed) shifted the bones back, straightening the nose into its proper shape. The young guard then used the sleeve of his impeccably clean uniform to wipe the worst of the blood from under Valjean’s nose and lips. As if that was not enough, Javert even went so far as to bend Valjean's elbow, fixing one of his freed hands under his head so that his cheek rested on it, which put the exhausted convict’s neck in a more comfortable position. Valjean could scarcely believe what had just occurred! This was the first trace of kindness he had received in this hellish place. If he had held the power over his body, he would have wept.</p><p>Seemingly satisfied with his work, Javert walked the small distance to the door. Valjean let his eyes follow his vague shape in the darkness of the cell. Two shining beacons, the guard's eyes, were directed at him as Javert turned just outside to shut the door. With the closing thud, the small space was robbed of its only source of light, leaving Valjean alone in the oppressing blackness, but the anguish that always gripped him down here did not consume him this time. He had found a reason to persevere, to not let himself fade away like so many of his fellow condemned had done. Hope had awakened inside his chest and not even the greatest infernos of perdition could put it out! His dying soul had been saved by this miracle! There was still beauty and kindness even in this purgatory, and Valjean cherished the memory of that striking face like the most precious thing he owned. </p><p>With a start, Valjean returned to the present. He rubbed a hand over his face and willed his breathing to slow down. Any memory from that place, even the ones which had traces of happiness, always made his heart race with ingrained fear. <em>Javert</em>. Oh, how he had desperately clung to this memory throughout his remaining years on Toulon. His eyes had always roamed after the guard, to catch a glimpse of him. Countless times he had caught his gaze and emotions he had never felt before had burst through his insides and turned him giddy. Valjean remembered how he used to first look around for other convicts or guards and when he did not find any spies, he would send Javert a tentative smile which had always made Javert grow flustered and fidgety. One time Javert had smiled back and Valjean had almost tripped because the view of Javert’s sharp teeth had been terrifying! Javert had noticed his distress and had quickly closed his mouth and turned away. Valjean had not managed to get a single smile from Javert after that and had cursed his own reaction. Other times, when the convicts were trudging back towards the barracks and the guards lined the road just outside the force-field, with their backs against them, he had always recognized Javert by the braid that ran down his back, and had then discreetly shuffled closer to that side of the road. When he walked past the guard, he would lean imperceptibly sideways and whisper <em>“Javert…”</em>, just low enough to not be overheard by others. Javert had always visibly shivered. </p><p>Valjean sighed heavily, leaning against his desk. After his escape from Toulon, all of his memories of Javert were contaminated with a layer of guilt. And now <em>he</em> was here. What kind of cruel coincidence was this? Of course, Valjean knew, from the official report he got a week ago from the Inner Rim, that an Inspector was going to arrive, to nose around in his business to try and sniff out anything incriminating. Since opening his space station, Montreuil-sur-Route, it had risen quickly in popularity and the old trade route, which transversed it, had become the single most populated one in the sector, creating a direct connection from the Outer Rim to the center of the galaxy. Naturally, this had led to a parallel trade route, known for its shady and criminal activities, to dry up, forcing that route's spaceport, Montfermeil, out of business. Thénardier, which was the name of the owner, had sent several blackmailing messages to Valjean, threatening to falsely inform the authorities about illegal businesses occurring in Valjean's port. Valjean inspected the papers of every ship that arrived and he was confident Javert would find nothing out of the ordinary. </p><p>Well, except if he recognized an escaped convict that is… Valjean gripped the edge of the table with shaking hands. Javert was an <em>Aloir</em>, an alien race from outside the Rim of the galaxy. Valjean had done his research. Aloirs were known for their excellent memory and Valjean did not want to challenge that fact (even if he had found said information on a holo-channel of questionable credibility). He had to take precautions. With determination, Valjean stood up and started gathering his most important holo-discs and chips, throwing them into a bag. He opened his safe with a retinal scan and scooped up rows upon rows of stacked credits, a considerable wealth, tipping them into the open bag. Lastly, he took the two decorative statues made of <em>adamantine</em>* sitting on each side of his desk. They depicted <em>Uettes</em>, the angelic alien race from the third arm of the galaxy, with sharp beaks and wings extended upwards in a circle, resembling phoenixes. They were the most precious of Valjean’s possessions and he wrapped them up in cloth before they joined the credits and holo-discs. Closing his bag Valjean took a look around his office. This had been his home for several years. With a sad sigh, he departed towards his freighter, which was hidden in a repair shop by the docks, to deposit his bag and restock on fuel and food supplies, just in case a swift escape was needed.</p>
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</div>As soon as he had arrived on Montreuil-sur-Route, an inauspicious feeling had aroused in his mind. Javert never ignored his gut feeling. He had been patrolling the streets looking for anything suspect but everything was apparently in perfect order. He had interviewed people and had inquired about the Mayor who owned the port, but they all spoke highly of Madeleine, as was his name, and of his good deeds and his low charges for docking. Curious about who this man was, Javert had found the main administrative building of the station and asked the clerks in the lobby for Madeleine. The man had just gone out for some urgent business and they did not know when he would be back. Disappointed at having missed a meeting with the elusive Mayor, Javert decided to check out the docks and see if he could root out anything illicit. That feeling of a strange wrongness remained in the back of his mind. Something was going on here and he was going to find it out.<p>As Javert arrived, a ship had just docked at the station for what looked like fuel renewal. It was a perfect opportunity to check if their papers were in order. Just as Javert was about to walk up to the freighter, the hatch opened and a woman and a crying toddler were thrown out, landing at Javert’s feet. Startled, he jumped backward and reached for his stun-baton secured in a holster at his thigh. On closer inspection the woman had, what had probably once been two proud wings, protruding from her back. Now the wings were dirty and almost devoid of feathers. They were the only trace of her presumably Uette blood. <em>Half-breed</em>, Javert thought and scowled. </p><p>A large man and his shorter companion came down the steps of the ship and Javert walked up to them to demand what was going on.</p><p>“Police Inspector Javert,” Javert said, flashing them the holo-badge attached to his chest armor. Both of the men paled visibly. “Who is the Captain of this ship?”</p><p>“Captain Bamatabois, at your service,” the bigger man said, bowing slightly. </p><p>Javert did not like his mocking tone. He saw, of course, how the men took notice of his alien features and crunched their noses in disgust.</p><p>“Explain yourself,” Javert demanded, pointing at the woman who was still wailing on the ground, too weak to stand up.</p><p>“I just found this filthy <em>alien</em> and her bastard stowed away on my ship! Can you believe it!? She probably sneaked aboard on our last fuel stop and hid inside the cargo hold. Is that not illegal? And, look at her! I cannot let her spread disease inside my ship!”</p><p>The woman did indeed look sick and stowing away was a crime, especially people who had no permit to travel through the Rim. This woman most probably did not have any papers or identification to speak of, Javert reasoned.</p><p>“Your actions are understandable and it is within your right to throw this criminal out. Rest assured, I will take care of them both! Although, I will need to look at your permits, as per routine. I am sure you understand.”</p><p>“Of course! Bring the papers!” The Captain barked the order to his companion. </p><p>When the other man returned, Javert scanned through the papers and it appeared all were in order: a regular trading ship on its way to the Inner Rim, with proper permits and landing codes. Javert nodded to the Captain and returned the holo-cards. </p><p>“Everything seems to be in order. This stowaway will not bother you any longer. I wish you a pleasant journey,” Javert concluded and turned away to address the woman. </p><p>“You are hereby under arrest for stowing away and traveling without a permit—” Javert was rudely interrupted by the woman crawling up to him and starting to beg while she clawed at his coat. </p><p>“Inspector, please!! Mercy! I beg you! They are lying! My poor Cosette! I cannot go to jail! She will die!! Please, I paid them credits! They promised me they would drop us off on—!” </p><p>“Shut up!” Javert stopped her pathetic croaking with a weak kick to dislodge her grip on his coat. </p><p>“I checked their papers. You have none to speak of! Show me some identification to prove me wrong!” The woman continued to sob, shaking her head. “There, you see? You are a liar and a criminal! You are coming with me!” </p><p>With that, Javert grabbed one of her skeleton arms and began dragging the stumbling woman with him towards the direction of his ship. Her wings were hanging limply and he cringed every time one of them touched his back. The child, which Javert had frankly forgotten about, came running after them, screaming after her <em>“Maman”</em>. </p><p>Rounding the corner, they came upon an empty docking platform, and as Javert turned to lead the woman past some crates, towards the street that led to Javert’s docking place, he glimpsed the shape of a man blocking their way. As the silhouette moved forwards from the shadows, Javert saw graying curls framing the clean-shaved and handsome face of a middle-aged man. He was short but broad-shouldered and wore a stylish green coat over gray slacks and dark boots. </p><p>“I am Madeleine, the Mayor of this port. I demand you release this woman.” Javert could only gasp at the audacity of that request. <em>So this was the Mayor everyone sung praises about?</em></p><p>“I am Inspector Javert of the Police. This woman is under arrest and is being taken away for interrogation. Step aside, or I shall arrest you as well for obstructing justice!”</p><p>“Please, Inspector. Let us speak for a moment,” Madeleine said, as he stepped closer to them, showing his gloved palms in a sign of peace. </p><p>Something about his face seemed familiar to Javert, but he could not pinpoint what. </p><p>“I saw the spectacle. I do not believe this poor woman deserves such treatment. She is clearly ill and needs medical attention. Please, let me take her to the Medcenter! You can question her afterward, and when you do, please listen to what she has to say. I believe her to be telling the truth.”</p><p>“I already inspected the ship she stowed away on! This woman and her brat are illegal travelers! Step aside and let me do my job!” Javert growled. He was not one to easily rise to anger but this stranger was making his insides boil.</p><p>The older man’s face hardened and he stepped even closer, planting his feet on the ground and straightening his impossibly wide frame.</p><p>“Where is your mercy, Javert?”</p><p>Javert froze. The sound of his name uttered in that voice… Those fierce eyes… He had known this before. He had heard that voice before. He had met that gaze before. Javert had seen this man before! <em>But where?!</em></p><p>"I know you from somewhere…" Javert mumbled and distractedly shoved the woman aside, letting go of her to walk closer towards the Mayor.</p><p>The woman tripped, wings flailing uselessly, and with a sickening crack, her head slammed against the corner of a crate. She slid to the ground, lifeless. Javert turned towards her and stood frozen in momentary shock, mouth hanging open, staring at her cooling corpse.</p><p>“MAMAN!”</p><p>Madeleine hurried past Javert and the screaming child to kneel beside the woman, checking her for signs of life. His eyes shone with anger when he stood up and turned towards Javert. </p><p>“YOU HAVE KILLED THIS WOMAN!” </p><p>That was the precise moment when everything clicked in place inside Javert’s brain. All of a sudden, he shot out his hand and gripped the Mayor’s wrist in a bruising hold. The man trembled in anger, but a trace of fear was apparent in his eyes as if he could perceive the look of dawning recognition in Javert’s. Before Madeleine could wrench his hand free, Javert forced his right sleeve upwards to reveal the jagged scar on his inner forearm: a mark left by the removal of a convict tracker… If the raised marks around his wrist were not damning enough, the scar on his arm was.</p>
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</div><p> Javert gasped as he saw the mark, a brief flash of something vulnerable in his eyes, but moments later he bared his teeth in a snarl and Valjean got a front-seat view of two rows full of sharp canines. <em>Predator</em>. It reminded him of how alien Javert was, strangely beautiful but also fearsome. If you disregarded his pointed ears and fluorescent eyes, he could almost pass for a Human. Javert even had full whiskers now, which tricked you into almost believing, but as soon as his lips parted he could fool no one.</p><p>Valjean wrenched free from Javert’s grip, backing away towards the edge of the platform. </p><p>"YOU!!" Javert growled, taking out his stun-baton and advancing. Valjean noted how Javert's voice had wavered, almost threatening to break, as if the man's throat had closed up with the revelation.</p><p>The child continued to wail, while the two men circled each other slowly. Javert's face was twisted in fury, almost madness, but in his eyes, Valjean found traces of unforgiven betrayal and hurt, which cut him through the core. Soon Javert grew impatient, and with a shout, he jumped forwards and tried to stun him. Valjean ducked easily, grabbed Javert's wrist, and twisted it. The man was forced to let go of the baton with a cry of pain. </p><p>Javert swung his free arm to strike him, but Valjean took hold of that wrist as well, fingers circling it like a shackle. Thus, he had the man firmly locked in place. Javert started struggling, trying to free himself, but Valjean was the stronger man. From afar, they looked to be caught in a strange sort of dance: Valjean standing firm, their locked hands raised between them, and Javert twisting this way and that way in front of him.</p><p>"Jave—"</p><p>"LET ME GO!"</p><p>The raw anguish in Javert's voice startled Valjean enough to loosen his grip. The man tore himself from Valjean's hands and staggered backward, eyes wild. Javert's gaze darted about frantically before settling on his wrist-communicator. He lifted a hand to activate it, but Valjean could not let that happen. Not sparing a moment for regret, he spun around and kicked the Inspector hard in the stomach. Javert doubled over and fell to his knees, gasping and retching in pain. With him incapacitated, Valjean hurried to lift the distraught toddler into his arms. The adrenaline helped him focus on the task at hand, ignoring the flood of emotions this whole ordeal was unearthing. Those would surely come to torment him later.</p>
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</div>When Javert had recovered somewhat, he saw that the escaped convict now stood by the edge of the platform with the child in his arms, fiddling with something on his wrist. Javert stood up with effort and stumbled towards him.<p>“You cannot r-run, 24601!” </p><p>The man lifted his head and held his gaze for a moment, which seemed to span centuries, and then, without even blinking an eye, he jumped off the edge of the platform. </p><p>Javert halted in sheer disbelief, brain refusing to believe what he had just witnessed. Then he was running towards the edge.</p><p>“Valjean!!”</p><p>Javert nearly tipped forwards over the edge with the momentum, and for one scary second he thought he was going to fall to his death, but pivoting his arms, he managed to right himself, gaining his footing in the last moment. His breathing sounded harsh in his ears as he stumbled backward to safety. When Javert had regained his breath, he carefully neared the edge and glanced down. He could not see any trace of Valjean or the child. The ground level was a long, long way down. There was no way anyone could survive such a fall. </p><p>When Javert took his small ship down, he found no bodies on the ground of the space station. He clenched his gloved fists until his fingers hurt. Once again, Valjean had vanished without leaving a trace. Once again, Javert was left behind…</p>
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</div>Valjean parked the hoverbike in the cargo hold of his freighter and closed the rear doors. Running into the cockpit, he deposited the child, <em>Cosette</em> (he recalled that the woman had called her thus), in the co-pilot chair and fired up the engine, praying that Javert was not following them. He did not think the man had been able to see him pull off the stunt, landing on the hoverbike, mid-air, with a child in his arms.<p>The moment the ship left the small atmosphere of the station, Valjean forced it into hyperspace. With swift fingers, he modified the tracking signal and cleaned the logs, three times for good measure. Taking a deep breath to ground himself after the adrenaline rush, Valjean opened a holo-screen and began manipulating his identification papers to create a new identity.</p><p>After approximately half an hour, he leaned back in the pilot’s chair and cracked his fingers. In front of him was a holo displaying two identification papers: one with his picture and the name “Ultime Fauchelevent” and another one with the name “Cosette Fauchelevent”. He had decided to adopt the child. He knew what would have happened to her if he had left her behind. She did not deserve such an end. Valjean owed it to that poor woman to raise the child in her stead. She had died on his spaceport, and thus, he must take the blame for her death. He looked towards the co-pilot seat where Cosette was fast asleep. With a heavy sigh, Valjean lifted the child into his arms and took her to the small sleeping quarters. He placed her on the lower level of the bunk bed that jutted out of the wall. It was fortunate that his ship had been designed for a crew of two. He placed a blanket on the sleeping child and walked back to the cockpit. </p><p>He let himself fall heavily into the chair. Saving the ID-files, he closed them and then fiddled with various buttons, opening the navigation panel to decide on a destination. His hand hovered on the holo-map of the galaxy, over the Inner Rim. It could be risky, but nobody would suspect him to flee so near to the core. Moving his fingers, he zoomed in on a random area. Hundreds of planets and systems dotted across that space. Closing his eyes, he placed a finger on a random point. Opening his lids, he was met with a pop-up of information about Gorbeau, a small planet in the outskirts of the Inner Rim. There was nothing special about it. No increased Police or Gendarme activity. No famous buildings or inhabitants. It had a dry, pleasant climate. <em>Perfect.</em> Valjean nodded to himself and programmed coordinates to several random jumps, with the last being Gorbeau, his, or he supposed their, new home. The ship lurched a bit as it adjusted trajectory from inside hyperspace. It was dangerous and highly unwise to change directions while in a jump, but Valjean was an expert and had done this countless times in the past with his dark history of smuggling…</p><p>With all of his urgent tasks done, Valjean's thoughts drifted inadvertently to the day's events and Javert. Gone was the kind and naive guard Valjean remembered, replaced instead by a callous and careless man. With his face pressed into his palms, Valjean forced himself to acknowledge a terrible possibility. Had he, with his thoughtless actions, caused this shift inside Javert, turning him cold and indifferent towards a being's suffering? Was <em>he</em> the sole reason Javert's soul had hardened, losing his empathy and his mercy in the process? Had he somehow managed to rob Javert of his heart, taking it with him when he fled that day, leaving Javert behind… heartless? The way he had stolen that kiss and abandoned him bleeding on the sand… Valjean could feel that familiar whirlpool of guilt clawing its way out of his subconscious to overwhelm him. With shaking hands, he found the two <em>adamantine</em> statues inside his bag and placed them on the edge of the control panel. He closed his eyes and began to sing.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p><em>duracier</em> = French word for "durasteel" (a fictional metal I shamelessly stole from Star Wars). Yes, the universal language of this galaxy is French.</p><p><em>adamantine</em> = The most precious metal of the galaxy. Imagine something like platinum. Name taken from Adamant, the hardest of all substances in classical mythology.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Rescue</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"Valjean!! Valjean, stop!" </p><p>Javert drove his hoverbike in front of the fleeing convict and intercepted his path, parking it in the air in front of him to block his way. Valjean stopped running, bent in half with his hands resting on his thighs, and tried to regain his breath.</p><p>"Why do you keep on doing this?! Why can you not just serve your sentence?" Javert shouted towards him in frustration.</p><p>"My original sentence was five years, Javert. Five years!" Valjean stated, in between gasps.</p><p>When he looked up, Javert’s brow was knit in confusion. That familiar anger, born out of injustice, rose within Valjean, and his acute desire to escape this torment increased tenfold.</p><p>"Yes, Javert, I would have served my rightful five years, but instead it was extended, again and again, with no explanation! There is no end to this torture!!" </p><p>"If you had not tried to escape so many times, your sentence would not have been extended! You would have been free nine years ago!" Javert said, waving his arms about to emphasize his argument.</p><p>"Javert, you don't understand!! My first escape attempt was the first day we met. Do you remember? That was four years ago!"</p><p>Valjean could see doubt fill those pale eyes and silently willed the guard to understand his impossible predicament.</p><p>"I am a slave, Javert. Do you not see this? I already served my sentence years ago! I was 24 when they brought me here. Now I'm 38! They have stolen my youth and now they rob me of my freedom, my life!! You, who pride yourself on justice, is that not unjust?"</p><p>Javert faltered, his mouth opened but no sound escaped. An array of conflicting emotions flashed across his eyes and he looked uncharacteristically uncertain. </p><p>"There is only one way to finish one's sentence here, and that is getting thrown into that pit out in the southern salt pan," Valjean said in a grave voice. Javert was watching him, a frown marring his face. "Do you understand now? I don't want to die here, Javert!" </p><p>At this, the guard’s face twisted and the skin of his fingers paled with the amount of force he was using to clutch at the handlebars of the bike.</p><p>"You will if you continue this!! They are going to throw you in Hell again! One of these days you will die down there, do you not realize this?!" Javert shouted, his voice wavering. </p><p>"They won't catch me this time." Valjean held the guard's gaze in a silent challenge.</p><p>"I…" </p><p>Javert faltered and broke eye contact to look past him, which reminded Valjean of the other guards that would be here any minute. He needed to hurry to get past Javert and—  </p><p>That was when Valjean was suddenly seized with the realization that he could not bear to part ways with this man. His mind strayed to the sleepless nights in Hell, where the only thing that had kept him sane had been the way he had fantasized about fleeing Toulon together with Javert, to settle down on a small green planet with a cozy climate and endless plains of lush grass. He had dreamt about how they would sit on the soft ground, watching the suns set, and when night descended, at last, Javert's eyes would shine like the countless stars hanging over the sky… Now, the thought of not being able to realize this dream made his heart ache terribly. How had Javert come to be so dear to him?</p><p>"Come with me, Javert…"</p><p>Javert, having whipped his head quickly back towards Valjean, opened and closed his mouth, apparently rendered speechless as he stared at Valjean's outstretched hand. Valjean walked up to the guard and grabbed his shoulders. </p><p>"You must have heard the awful things they say about you! What your colleagues wish they could do to you! Don't stay here, Javert!! Please, come with me!! We can escape this place together!!" Valjean urged with growing desperation, but, in his grip, Javert hunched on himself and looked down at the ground.</p><p>"I… I can't. I am a guard. I must take you back…" Javert said, and Valjean understood, with terrible clarity, that this would be the last moments he would ever have with Javert. </p><p>Valjean could hear the sound of groundspeeders nearing. It was now or never. He did not have any time left to spare. Not letting himself pause for second thoughts, Valjean gripped Javert's arms and effortlessly lifted him off the seat of his bike. Then, depositing Javert (who had let out a rather undignified yelp) on the ground, he pulled him close by his uniform collar and placed a bruising kiss on the man's lips. It was over in a second and Javert was staring at him, ice-blue eyes blown wide in shock and fear. Valjean took a precious second to commit his face to memory. Next, Valjean took a deep breath and prayed for any higher power listening to forgive him for what he was about to do.</p><p>"Javert, I am sorry…" </p><p>The instant his fist connected with the guard's face, regret assaulted his heart like a thousand vibroblades. Javert, sprawled on the sand, dazedly lifted a hand to his nose. A bitter taste filled Valjean’s mouth as he watched the guard's blood run in rivulets from his broken nose. The small part of Valjean's brain that was not tormented with guilt, observed that the blood was colored a foreign dark red, almost black. </p><p>Forcing himself to turn away, Valjean climbed onto Javert's bike and started the engine. He cast a last glance at the guard sitting on the blood-speckled sand. Javert did not try to stop him, he just sat there unmoving as if in shock, eyes filled with tears of raw hurt and betrayal. Valjean could feel his own eyes burning as he turned the hoverbike around and drove away at full speed.</p><p><em>Oh Stars</em>, he should not have hit so hard, even if anything less would have damned Javert in the eyes of the other guards. It had had to look real, Valjean told himself. It had been real, a voice whispered in his mind. Valjean felt sick to his stomach. He remembered the first time he met the man, the way Javert had gently set his broken nose straight. This was the thanks Javert got for his kindness? Valjean breaking the man's nose and not even showing the courtesy of asking if he was alright? The crunch and Javert's cry of pain sounded again in his mind and Valjean was forced to stop the bike and lean over to vomit over the side. </p><p>"Are you alright there, brother?"</p><p>Startled, Valjean looked up to see an older man, dressed in the garbs of a monk, approach him. Behind him, a small freighter was parked. What was a monk doing in the middle of the desert? The man looked at him with kind eyes as he stretched out his hand to help Valjean climb off the bike. Fresh shame filled Valjean's being as he remembered the betrayal reflected in Javert's eyes. He climbed down on his own, rejecting the monk's help. Jean Valjean was not worthy of any kindness.</p><p>Suddenly, a beeping sound came from somewhere. Was it coming from the ship? It grew louder and louder, assaulting Valjean’s ears and he covered them with his hands trying to keep out the cacophony. Then a second even louder ringing drilled into his skull and Valjean screamed for it to stop… and promptly fell down onto hard ground.</p><p>Blinking open his eyes, he realized he was lying on a carpet-covered <em>duracier</em> floor. The carpet was uncannily similar in design and color of the carpet that covered the parlor in… That is when Valjean realized that his nose was indeed pressed against the carpet-covered floor of his own parlor, inside his home. Standing up and rubbing at his eyes, Valjean concluded that he had rolled off the couch which he must have dozed on, inviting old memories to creep into his sleeping mind. Too often they involved Javert. How long ago was the last time he had seen the man? Fifteen years? All this time and still Javert had always been his constant companion by the way the man appeared in nearly all of his dreams and nightmares. Where was Javert now, Valjean wondered. Was he even still alive? Instantly Valjean's mind shied away from that horrible possibility. No, he would have felt it surely if Javert had passed! <em>I would have felt it</em>, Valjean decided, because the alternative would have distressed him greatly.</p><p>Having recovered somewhat from his grogginess, Valjean noticed that the communicator on his wrist was beeping and somebody was ringing the doorbell. A sudden wave of worry seized him. Had something happened to Cosette?! </p><p>Running to the door, Valjean opened his comm* to see who the caller was. The holo displayed the name <em>“Éponine”</em>. Having reached the door at the same moment, he saw on the monitor that it was indeed Éponine standing outside. Cosette was not with her. Valjean pressed open the door and ushered the visibly distraught girl inside.</p><p>"Éponine, what is the matter?! Where is Cosette?!" </p><p>"Oh, Monsieur, it is terrible!! The fools! They have all gone to start the damned revolution! We must hurry!!" Éponine shouted out, all in a rush, while pacing agitatedly.</p><p>"What are you saying? Where is Cosette!?" Valjean asked frantically, gripping the girl's shoulders to keep her still. The walking back and forth was making him dizzy. </p><p>Éponine sighed and averted her eyes, looking a bit guilty. </p><p>"Cosette has been attending the meetings of <em>Les Amis de l'ABC</em>, on the upper floor of the Musain—" </p><p>"Those rebels!? Why would Cosette join them, she told me she was helping you in the cantina—!" </p><p>Éponine cut him off impatiently.</p><p>"Yes, yes, I know. And I’m sorry. She didn't want you to worry. She lied, but that's beside the point! She and Marius and all the others have gone to June. They are going to attack and infiltrate the <em>Préfecture de Police</em>!!"</p><p>"June!? <em>Merde</em>!” Valjean swore, tugging at his white locks in despair.</p><p>“I know!! Of all places and planets, they choose the damned one filled to the brim with Police Officers and Inspectors!!”</p><p>That was exactly why going there would be a terrible, terrible idea but Valjean could not leave Cosette to finish this suicide mission.</p><p>“They are all naive children believing their attempt at revolt will succeed. It won’t. They will all die. I must go and fetch Cosette!" he said, clenching his fists in determination.</p><p>"I'm coming too!! I must save her and Marius from their own stupidity!" the girl exclaimed, anger coloring her tone.</p><p>"No, it is too dangerous!” He was not going to take another youth with him into the middle of what was surely going to be a massacre. Then his mind caught up with what Éponine had said. “…and who exactly is this Marius?"</p><p>"My roommate. Did I not tell you his name? He is also Cosette's friend. I introduced them, and I am beginning to think I should not have…” Éponine shook her head to clear her mind and then looked fiercely at Valjean. “I will come no matter what you say. I have to save the people I love!" <em>Duracier</em> determination burned in her eyes and Valjean’s shoulders dropped in defeat. Better to bring the stubborn girl with him rather than her stealing a ship to go there anyway.</p><p>"I thought it was strange how frequently she was going to the Musain to help you. I thought it was good for her to learn honest work. How could I have been so blind?" Valjean said, leaning against the wall, devastated at having completely missed something like this. </p><p>"We must hurry, Monsieur!" Éponine urged.</p><p>She was right. Every second was precious and could be the difference between life and death for his daughter.</p><p>"Yes! Hurry, and come with me!" he called out to the girl, as he hurried along the hall towards where his ship was parked. </p><p>They quickly boarded the freighter and strapped themselves to the pilot and co-pilot chairs. Valjean fired up the engines and soon they were jumping into hyperspace, destination: June. </p><p>Éponine had leapt out of her chair and was now pacing behind Valjean, in the small cockpit. Valjean was not faring any better, anxiety making him bounce his leg repeatedly, unable to sit still. The distance between Paris and June was vast and it would take hours to arrive on the planet. He remembered the first time he met Éponine. Cosette had brought her home, telling him that she had found Éponine and befriended her out by the spaceport. She had told him that Éponine had just arrived at Paris and as the girl needed a place to live, why could she not stay with them while she searched for permanent lodging? Valjean had reluctantly agreed, and he had been wary the entire week the girl had stayed with them. As it turned out, Éponine was a decent person and a good friend to his daughter, who before this time had not had any real friends, with only her Papa for company. After that week, Éponine had found a roommate to rent an apartment with and had obtained an honest job as a waiter and bartender at the Musain cantina. When Cosette had approached him with the possibility of her helping Éponine out as a sort of apprentice, Valjean had agreed. He had mused that it would be good for his daughter to get out amongst people and learn to work honestly so she could stand on her own two feet one day. Valjean would not be around forever, and even if Cosette would inherit a considerable fortune, she still needed to learn a trade or two as a backup, in case anything went wrong. You could never be too careful.</p><p>Now he had learned that Cosette had been deceiving him all along and had instead joined the young revolutionaries that frequented the private upper levels of the cantina. They needed to have a talk after all of this was over. Because of course, he was going to fetch Cosette unharmed! If anything happened to her he did not know how he would find the strength to go on. No, she was going to be saved from her own recklessness! He supposed they would grab this elusive Marius and bring him with them to safety as well. A few hours and they would arrive to carry out this rescue mission. Valjean willed his heart to stop its racing. Whatever happened on that planet, he was doing this, willingly casting himself into the pit of snakes, for Cosette.</p>
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</div><em>BOOM!!!</em><p>The ground shook. Javert almost fell before he managed to grab at the wall to steady himself.</p><p>"Rivette, what is going on?!" Javert demanded after righting himself.</p><p>Rivette hurried to the holo-terminal by the opposite wall of the corridor and with a few touches the holo displayed a surveillance feed of the square outside the <em>Préfecture</em>. What the picture revealed shocked Javert to the core. A large group of unknown armed people stood outside and several of them were in the process of readying what looked like a plasma cannon. </p><p>"Sir, it seems the building is being attacked!" Rivette provided unnecessarily, voice tinged with disbelief.</p><p>"How is that possible?! Why have the defense systems not activated and the sensors alerted us?" Javert asked as he inspected his wrist-holo.</p><p>Rivette's fingers flew over the holo-screen as he ran a basic diagnostic of the security system.</p><p>"They are disabled, Sir! A group of rebels… They must have infiltrated the building! They are already insid—" </p><p>
  <em>BOOOM!!!</em>
</p><p>This time Javert had to brace himself as he fell hard on the ground. The pained grunt from Rivette revealed he had not fared any better. </p><p>"Sir!! They have breached the gates!" came Rivette’s urgent voice and Javert jumped up and turned to the holo in time to see the rebels pour in through the melted doors. </p><p>"We have to alert the Gendarmes. Rivette—"</p><p>"Sir, they have somehow disabled all communication. We cannot call for help…"</p><p>The severity of the situation seemed to dawn on the two men as they stared at each other. </p><p>"Then we will fight," Javert stated, as he dusted off his coat and pulled out his pistol. </p><p>Rivette squared his shoulders and did the same.</p>
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</div>As they slowly crept by the walls of the corridor towards the vestibule of the building, voices rose. Javert indicated towards Rivette to stand back as he advanced carefully forwards, weapon raised. When he came upon the doorway, which opened a few meters above the level of the vestibule, he hunched down and slightly bent his face around the edge of the opening, so that he might watch the goings-on with one eye. The sight that met him made his shoulders tense up and he tilted his head further to take in the full devastation.<p>Bodies of both Police and insurgents lay scattered on the floor and traces of a battle marred the ground and walls. The insurgents were all gathered in a group in the middle of the room, speaking with each other with their backs turned to him, so their attention was elsewhere. Javert took the opportunity to quietly move his whole body past the corner, so he was standing in the opening. This way he could tilt his head out a bit to get a view of the staircase that led to the mezzanine and continued further to the upper floors. It was empty. Javert looked back over his shoulder to see that his companion had quietly crept past in the corridor to stand on the other side of the doorway. Javert started to step back inside for cover when he saw Rivette’s eyes widen in alarm.</p><p>"Javert!!" Rivette screamed and Javert turned back to see the plasma bolt sailing straight towards him. </p><p>Javert threw his body aside in the last second, narrowly avoiding getting a hole burnt through his abdomen, but instead he was now falling down the steep ladder that led down to the larger room. Trying to slow the speed of impact he blindly threw a hand out towards the railing, managing to grab it, but the momentum made his body spin around, and the resulting acute pain from his wrist forced him to let go. At least, he had succeeded in turning his body so that he was not falling headfirst. Instead, Javert fell hard on his left foot and screamed out at the sharp burn that flared up from his ankle as it twisted. His leg gave out under him and he impacted hard on the <em>duracier</em> floor with his right side. Thus, left incapacitated on the ground, he curled on himself, clutching at his aching foot and moaning at the pain from both his ankle, wrist and the right side of his torso. Dimly he was aware of hands roughly searching his body and divesting him of his weapons. Then he was dragged by his coat towards the middle of the room. </p><p>When the pain had ebbed down a bit, Javert managed to sit up on his knees to acknowledge the unfortunate predicament he had put himself into. The unmistakable muzzle of a rifle was pressed between his shoulder blades the moment he sat up. Suppressing a shudder, Javert observed his surroundings without moving. He was surrounded by insurgents. They looked to be around their twenties. Javert spotted a boy amongst them who could not be older than ten. Why the insurgents had brought a child with them, endangering him, Javert did not know. A rebel with a mop of wild hair stepped up to the boy.</p><p>"Gavroche, what are you doing here!? I told you to stay on the ship!!" </p><p>"I came to fight! I'm not going anywhere!" the boy, Gavroche, answered, crossing his small arms and glaring at the young man.</p><p>"You weren't supposed to come!" </p><p>The boy looked up defiantly at the man, who let out an exasperated sigh, dragging a hand down his face.</p><p>"Look, just stay out of danger."</p><p>As the curly-haired man walked past, Javert got a strong whiff of <em>Épice</em>* and scrunched up his nose in disgust at the smell of the recreational drug that had become an epidemic throughout the galaxy. The man stopped to converse with, whom Javert assumed was the leader of the group. He was an Uette with impressively large ruby wings that were folded close to his back, probably to not take up space or knock somebody accidentally to the floor. He missed a beak but his shiny raven hair and high cheekbones combined with fierce eyes gave him a strong air of charisma. It was no wonder, Javert thought, that he had managed to gather such a following. Now, the young leader was in the middle of strategizing but Javert was too far away to make out his orders. </p><p>Suddenly, Javert's attention shifted to the boy, Gavroche, who had just blocked his view. He looked Javert up and down with an angry sneer as if assessing him, and then he smiled mischievously, stuck out his tongue, and made a rude hand gesture he should not have known at such a young age. Javert was baffled and something must have shown on his face because the boy laughed at him. </p><p>All of a sudden a loud bang was heard, startling the group of insurgents and Javert. Voices shouted out from above as several Police Officers poured down the stairs, blaster rifles raised. Something like hope rose in Javert's chest. It was not over yet! The insurgents were fast to act and the result was two opposing groups of people with their weapons aimed at each other, at a standstill. Javert was sitting in the middle of this confrontation. The weapon pressing against Javert’s back had vanished, but the insurgent with the curly hair had his rifle pointed at Javert so he did not dare try to crawl to safety.</p><p>Gavroche, who was still standing in front of him, took a broken piece of <em>duracier</em> from the ground, and Javert, sitting incapacitated on the ground as he was, could not react in time to stop the boy as he took aim and threw the stone towards the line of Officers.</p><p>"Scum!" he shouted with his young voice. </p><p>"Gavroche—!" the curly-haired rebel screamed, far too late.</p><p>With horror, Javert watched, as the boy was pierced with dozens of plasma bolts, mouth open in a soundless scream as he fell to the floor. Chaos erupted all around Javert, shouts, and reports of ignition sounding as bolts of hot plasma pierced the surrounding air and left small craters on the floor. But Javert did not even notice the debris as it cut through his clothes and face. He could not look away from the unseeing eyes of the boy that lay in front of him, the small hand stretched out towards Javert. At that moment, Javert felt raw horror at what he had witnessed. <em>This was a child. A child! Innocent! He only threw a stone. The punishment did not fit the crime. G-Gavroche should still be breathing. This was not justice. It was wrong! The child was dead and it was wrong! Why…</em> He was sitting on his knees in the middle of a battle zone, rocking back and forth, and pressing his hands against his ears to stop the sounds of endless fire that made him flinch repeatedly. </p><p>Javert resurfaced from inside his mind when he felt a rough hand take hold of his upper arm. It was quiet now, and around him more bodies littered the floor. One of the rebels had grabbed Javert and started hauling him towards the large entrance hall. Javert did not resist but he could not help but grunt in pain when his injured foot dragged on the ground. Javert saw several other Inspectors and Officers sitting tied up in the middle of the hall, surrounded by insurgents. He spotted Rivette who raised his head to look at him with one eye; the other was swollen shut. The insurgent tied Javert’s hands behind his back and he yelped at the pain from his injured wrist, unable to keep the tears from springing into his eyes. The horror Javert had known earlier had faded, and now, as he was shoved down to sit at the head of the row of hostages, he only felt numb.</p><p>“And who are you?” a melodic voice asked and Javert lifted his head to see the Uette standing before him.</p><p>“Chief Inspector Javert,” he murmured, lowering his face towards the floor again.</p><p>“They really made <em>you</em> Chief Inspector?” the rebel leader scoffed and leaned down to grab Javert by the root of his braid, pulling on it to force Javert’s head backward so he had no choice but to look into the fierce eyes. The boy’s face was twisted in disgust. “You must be a real bootlicker. How does it feel to be a traitor to your own kind?” </p><p>The insurgents started jeering but ceased at a look from their leader. The Uette pulled Javert up by his braid, forcing him to stand up on wobbly legs to minimize the painful tug on his hair. He tried to keep weight off his injured foot even as tears escaped at last down his face. </p><p>“This is their ultimate goal, my friends. To not even have to lift a finger. Just sit and watch as we enforce our own slavery! To turn us into tools, like this,”—the Uette tugged at the hair in his fist for emphasis and Javert could not help but let out a whimper—“so that we may actively participate in upholding the very system that oppresses us!” The rebels were watching their leader and nodding at his words, their faces grim.</p><p>“This is why we fight! We cannot let the <em>Empereur</em> turn us against each other! We can no longer turn a blind eye to the suffering of our brethren! We must fight so that each and every one of us is seen as equal, regardless of our species, where we come from, or the number of credits to our name! We must burn down this totalitarian regime so that a new and free republic can rise from its ashes!”</p><p>The youths cheered and lifted their rifles in the air, a gesture full of passion to show their readiness to battle for the freedom of the galaxy. This display unnerved the hostages, who sat tense and anxious huddled together in a row on the floor. The Uette still had not let go of Javert and the leg that bore his weight had begun trembling, threatening to give out. </p><p>“Courfeyrac, ready the holo-recorder. It is time to state our demands!” the leader said and yanked on the braid for Javert to follow him as he began walking. Javert stumbled and howled when his leg gave out and he was left hanging by the hair in the boy’s fist. The Uette seized him by the arm and dragged him forcefully towards what Javert could not see, through his blurred vision, but that he guessed was the holo-recorder on the raised platform, where the <em>Préfet</em> would record his speeches to be sent live to the public. To his relief, the rebel had let go of his braid, but Javert grimaced at the ache that still pounded in his head from all the pulling. </p><p>It was apparent to him now; he was going to be used as an example of a hostage when the rebels made their demands. What he did not understand was why the leader had chosen him. Why not a Human? Why not the <em>Préfet</em> himself? Or had they already killed the man? Javert found that he did not care. Gisquet had always been particularly nasty towards him, treating him worse than a dog. Being rid of that man would be a relief. Anyway, he did still not understand why the rebels were going to use <em>him</em> as a hostage. Yes, he was a Chief Inspector, but they would not care about what happened to Javert. His life was worth nothing; he knew this. He was just a <em>half-breed</em> from outside the Rim, well-behaved, and with an exemplary track record, but still an alien. Still inferior in the eyes of his subordinates, colleagues, and the men he served. How did this foolish rebel leader think using Javert as a hostage would sway the decisions of the <em>Empereur</em> in their favor?</p>
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</div>It had been surprisingly easy to enter the atmosphere of June and to land the ship behind a large rock-formation out on the steppe, near the outskirts of the Police City. They had not been hailed, nor had their landing codes been demanded. It was apparent that the revolutionaries must have found a way to disable the security systems of the planet. Valjean and Éponine had crossed the grassland, crept alongside the emptied buildings, and were now stealthily approaching the main square.<p>Out on the steppe they had not had any cover and had been forced to hide in the tall grass when several large ships had flown above them towards the city. Valjean had shuddered as he had recognized those ships, and now, when he leaned around the corner to get a view of the square, he saw <em>them</em>. </p><p>Valjean remembered the days leading up to that horrid day when unrest had risen on their small forest planet after the arrival of the deforestation company, sent from the Inner Rim to take away their only livelihood. As Valjean had later understood, the mantle of their little planet had been discovered to hold some precious minerals, and to reach it they needed to cut down all the lush forests and dig deep into the ground, essentially destroying the planet. Valjean had been a teenager back then, but he could recall that day in vivid detail: the large ship that blocked out the sun as it drifted above the town, the sound of his sister Jeanne's scream as she realized her husband had joined the revolt and had been killed, and the frightening Gendarmes kicking open the door and dragging them all outside, to then set the house ablaze, while Valjean's seven nephews cried as they watched their home burn down. That single day had been the catalyst that had driven Valjean to the path of crime and inevitably into the arms of the law.   </p><p>Valjean shook his head to clear his mind from the ghosts of the past. What had happened had been a long time ago, he needed to focus on the present. Cosette was in danger and he needed to stay alert! The square was filled with Gendarmes with their black helmets, shaped like skulls, that shone in the sunlight. They wore the same riot gear that Valjean remembered. He could also spot at least two hover-tanks. The menacing soldiers were all looking towards the huge holo-screen that hung beside the barricaded doors of the <em>Préfecture</em> building. </p><p>“Enjolras!” Éponine whispered as she recognized the boy on the screen. </p><p>Enjolras’ voice was projected across the square and magnified as it reverberated on the <em>duracier</em> ground and walls of the surrounding buildings. Valjean knew the Uette as the leader of the rebels from the few times he had seen him around the cantina, but a second face was also visible on the screen. Valjean recognized that face; it may have aged 15 years since the last time he saw it but realization struck him in an instant… <em>Javert!</em> </p><p>He could not breathe. He could not think. He had thought he would never see that man again, but here he was, face plastered across the holo-screen. With a gasp, Valjean noticed the bruising, the blood, and the sunken eyes… and the muzzle of a rifle thrust under his chin, forcing his face upwards! Enjolras was holding Javert up by the back of his coat. Was Javert so hurt he could not stand? Valjean certainly noticed the tightness around the man's eyes and the lines around his mouth, which betrayed the pain and duress he was under. Enjolras was speaking and Valjean realized he must have been demanding things in exchange for their hostages.</p><p>“This is your last warning!” the rebel leader shouted impatiently. <em>How many messages had they sent?</em> “If you do not meet our demands we will start executing a hostage every ten minutes!” </p><p>Enjolras thrust his rifle more forcefully against Javert’s throat, making the man wince, and Valjean gasped in horror. Javert was looking right into the recorder and his eyes… Those eyes looked like they had been robbed of their light, had turned dull. Soulless. As if he had given up and lost all hope. As if he had already resigned for death… </p><p>He had to save Javert. <em>Oh, Stars!</em> He needed to save Javert from the hands of those youths before they did something terrible! <em>But Cosette?</em> Valjean was stuck in an impossible dilemma. Who would he try to save first? His beloved daughter? Or… or the man who had once been the only trace of light in Valjean's life? How could he choose between the two people in this universe he would be devastated to lose? It was true that he had not known of Javert in years but to even contemplate that he might have been dead was a horror his mind had always shied away from. And now, if he did not get to Javert in ten minutes they were going to execute him! </p><p>A hand landed on his shoulder and Valjean startled and turned towards Éponine. He realized that the harsh breathing that sounded in his ears was his own and tried to calm himself.</p><p>"Éponine…" His voice came out hoarse with the tumultuous emotions that raged inside him. </p><p>"You've turned pale as a sheet, Monsieur. You know that Police Inspector?" the girl asked carefully. Valjean cleared his throat.</p><p>"Yes. Yes, I knew him. I must— Éponine, I must save him! I cannot let them… But Cosette—"</p><p>"Monsieur, I will find Cosette and get her to safety. I swear to you," Éponine declared. Then she glanced back at Javert on the screen. "I know that man. I do not understand how you've come to know him and why you would want to save him, but I trust you. So, I will get Cosette and you go save the Inspector."</p><p>Relief flooded Valjean’s breast and a few tears sprung to his eyes at the gratitude he felt. He had no doubts that Éponine would find and bring Cosette unharmed to him. The girl was very resourceful.</p><p>"Thank you," he said, pressing his hand to Éponine’s shoulder for a moment.</p><p>"If we do not manage to meet up again, I'll use the ship they arrived in to escape. We'll meet above the planet if that happens."</p><p>"Okay. Stay safe, and if-if something happens, don't come back for me. Get Cosette out of here, she is the most important! Do you understand?" Valjean said, willing the girl to accept this. </p><p>"Alright, Monsieur. But you got to come back in one piece or Cosette will never forgive me, and you can’t save that Police guy if you stay behind. Good luck!" she said and quietly vanished around the corner.</p>
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</div>Valjean had been forced to retract his steps away from the square when the defense systems had been activated by the rebels. The Gendarmes were using the tanks to shoot against the firing ion cannons on the walls of the buildings to disable them. Valjean hurried to a parallel street and ran by the tall structures. He did not meet a soul. The rebels must have worked very efficiently to empty all the surrounding buildings of Police, to then barricade themselves in with their hostages. As he came to the side of the <em>Préfecture</em>, he had a view of the square from the corner and saw the damage that had been caused. One tank had been destroyed and the cannons had ceased their continuous fire, which probably meant they were destroyed as well. Several Gendarmes lay unmoving on the ground. With feline agility, born out of a childhood spent climbing tall trees, Valjean started scaling the building to enter through the balcony that jutted out of the facade.<p>Just as he was about to enter through the broken glass-doors he noticed that it was awfully quiet around him. Turning he saw that the square had been abandoned; not a single Gendarme remained! He heard the sounds first before he saw the large ships fly overhead and straight up, leaving the planet. Why were the Gendarmes leaving the planet? Were they leaving the hostages to their fate? There must be high-ranking Police amongst them, surely the Empire could not risk losing them. <em>Unless…</em> Valjean’s blood turned cold in his veins as he realized what was about to happen. The Gendarmes were going to use one of their infamous tactics: orbital bombardment. But this was different. If they blew up the building now, everyone inside would die, including the hostages! Had the <em>Empereur</em> ordered his Gendarmes to disregard the lives of the captured Police? Why would he attack his own supporters? Well, Valjean was not going to start analyzing the <em>Empereur’s</em> tactics when time was running short! He started running through the corridors and came upon a staircase which he hoped would lead him down to where he was needed. </p><p>While he rushed down the stairs, Valjean tried calling Éponine on his comm, but the device refused to work and he realized the rebels must have disabled communications. Valjean growled in frustration and prayed that Éponine would notice that the ships had left. The girl was smart, she would know what was about to happen and act accordingly. </p><p>At last, Valjean reached a large hall with traces of battle. He could hear voices coming from another adjacent hall and he crept forwards, hiding behind a damaged crate, just inside the door, and peeked into what looked to be the entrance hall.  What he saw made his breath hitch in terror. He recognized Javert by his braid, although it was truly rumbled and several strands of hair, once silky but now turned matted, had escaped it. Javert’s back was turned to him and he was tied up, sitting on his knees. A small group of hostages were being restrained by several rebels. There, in the middle of the hall, stood Enjolras, wings extended, and a plasma rifle in his hands pointed at Javert. </p><p>“Any last words?” the angry Uette asked and Javert lifted his head.</p><p>
  <em>"Non."</em>
</p><p>Enjolras pulled the trigger. </p><p>With quick reflexes born out of sheer panic, Valjean whipped out his gun and fired a shot. His plasma beam intercepted Enjolras' diagonally, halfway towards Javert's torso. The shockwave of the impact and the resulting small explosion sent Enjolras stumbling backward and Javert sprawling on his back on the ground. Upside-down, Valjean got a look at his face. His fringe had been singed, his nose and cheeks were darkened from burn, but he was alive and conscious. Valjean could not help the sigh of relief that escaped him. Hurrying to Javert’s side, Valjean paused as several rifles immediately pointed in his direction. </p><p>“Do not shoot!!" he shouted, lifting his hands in surrender. "You are all in grave danger! The Gendarmes have left the planet! They are going to blow up the building from space!! Do you understand?! You must run! All of you! Run!!” Valjean screamed and Enjolras hesitated, lowering his rifle. The Uette stood frozen for a moment—</p><p>
  <em>BOOOM!!!</em>
</p><p>The ground shook and a loud groan sounded from the walls. A second later the ceiling started to collapse. It had started! </p><p>Valjean grabbed Javert around the torso and hurriedly dragged him backward, as huge blocks of <em>duracier</em> started falling around them. Through the smoke and debris, he could see people running in all directions and hear the anguished screams of those less fortunate, who had been trapped or crushed under the falling stones. </p><p>Valjean took a precious second to free Javert from his restraints, ignoring the man's stricken face when he recognized him, and then he ran out of the building, pulling a stumbling Javert with him. He noticed that Javert groaned in pain every time his left foot touched the ground and the leg could not seem to take his weight. It was slowing them down so Valjean hauled the man up into his arms by the knees to carry him. He started running through the streets in earnest and Javert’s arms snaked around his shoulders to clutch at him desperately. Finally, as they reached the edge of the grassland, Valjean saw his parked ship in the distance and prayed nothing would strike it. </p><p>Miraculously they arrived unscathed, but as he was carrying Javert up the ramp the man suddenly tensed up and began struggling.</p><p>"Riv-Rivette!" he whispered and tried to wrestle free from Valjean, reaching towards the collapsing city. </p><p>"There is no use! We must go now!!" </p><p>Valjean forced him inside and closed the hatch. Javert was still in his arms and Valjean turned back to look at him. The man’s face was so close that Valjean could have counted his lashes if he so wished. The ice-blue eyes were locked on him, filled with confusion and uncertainty. </p><p>“Val… Valjean—” Javert uttered unevenly but was interrupted as the ship shook. </p><p>"Stay here!!" Valjean commanded and placed Javert back on the ground. </p><p>The man immediately dropped to his knees, his eyes vacant as he stared through the glass in the door towards the continuous bombardment of the once-grand <em>Préfecture de Police</em>, that had now almost been leveled to the ground. The last remaining structure, the tall communications tower, collapsed in front of Javert's eyes. </p><p>Valjean ran up to the control room, settling in the pilot chair and firing up the controls in record time. The tremors that shook the ship ceased as soon as it left the ground. While he programmed a route to leave the atmosphere, he opened his comm to call Cosette, and then Éponine when his daughter did not answer. The ship was in open space and Valjean was putting in coordinates for a hyperspace jump when Éponine answered at last. </p><p>“Monsieur!”</p><p>“Éponine!! My daughter! Is she—” Valjean asked frantically, dread drowning out any other emotion.</p><p>“Papa!!” Cosette’s voice spoke out of the holo and Valjean’s shoulders slumped in relief as her face appeared alongside Éponine's.</p><p>“Oh, Papa!! I am so sorry!” Cosette was crying and looked visibly shaken. “It’s terrible!” she cried out, and Valjean understood that not many of her friends had escaped. </p><p>“Are you alright? Are you unharmed?” Valjean tried to see any injuries through the holo. </p><p>“She is fine. We do not have time for this!” Éponine interjected, and she was right.</p><p>“Alright, we will speak later! Remember, scramble your signal and make several jumps, at least—”</p><p>“Yes, yes, I know! Don’t worry, Monsieur. You forget I was a smuggler once."</p><p>“Papa?” Cosette’s voice sounded again from the holo. </p><p>“Cosette?” </p><p>“See you on the other side,” she said, and the holo cut off as Valjean saw their ship make the jump, from the view through the window.</p><p>A second later, Valjean pushed the lever, and the stars above June stretched into beams of light as the ship lurched into hyperspace.</p>
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</div>Valjean had just finished programming random coordinates for eight jumps, with the last destination being Paris. He was not going to take any risks of being tracked. The downside was that the journey would take more than 24 hours. As he double-checked the coordinates, Valjean suddenly remembered Javert, who he had left by the common area of the ship. Before he stood up to look for him, Valjean clicked up the surveillance-holos of the ship’s interior to check if the man had wandered somewhere else.<p>What he saw made the blood in his veins freeze to ice. Javert had somehow found his way into the cargo hold and now stood leaning against the wall, inside the airlock, a hand hovering over the button that would open the rear doors and eject him straight into space! And not just the lethal vacuum of space but <em>hyperspace</em>, which would twist his fragile body into a million directions at once, shredding him into atom-sized pieces…</p><p>Valjean ran his fingers over the buttons with lightning speed, overriding the controls to the rear doors so that they could only be opened from the cockpit, rendering the button by Javert useless. As he finished, he opened up his comm and connected it to the loudspeakers in the cargo hold. Valjean's hands were shaking so badly, he had to do it twice before he managed to open the right connection.</p><p>“Javert!! What are you doing!?”</p><p> On the holo, Javert startled and his shoulders hunched. </p><p>"Javert!! Come back inside!" Valjean urged, speaking into his wrist-communicator while he ran. </p><p>"I can't… It's better this way…" Javert's voice wavered and then there was the unmistakable sound of a button being pressed. "Wha—" </p><p>The sounds of a button being pressed forcefully came multiple times. Valjean had now entered the cargo hold and shut down his comm.</p><p>"No… No! NO! You bastard!!" Javert exclaimed in anguish, his voice somewhat muffled by the doors. </p><p>When Valjean opened the doors, Javert turned to him and he looked angry and frustrated, tears pooling in the corners of his eyes. </p><p>"Javert, why—" Valjean started asking as he stepped up to him, but his question cut off when the man advanced.</p><p>Javert grabbed him and began hitting him repeatedly in the chest with his knuckles. His strikes were weak and did not hurt Valjean physically at all, but every pathetic hit from those fists felt like a vicious stab in his heart.</p><p>"Valjean! You bastard!! Let me— Let me go!! LET ME DIE!!" Javert screamed while he sent blow after blow against Valjean's torso, tears streaming down his face. </p><p>"Oh, Javert…" Valjean said, heart filled with sorrow. </p><p>Soon Javert collapsed, knees giving way, still clutching at Valjean’s jacket lapels. Valjean let himself slip to the floor and held Javert tight as the man sobbed against his chest. He could not help the tears that wet his own eyes at the situation. <em>What terrible things had happened to Javert? Why would he wish for death?</em> Valjean had so many questions but he kept them to himself, and, instead, hugged Javert close, praying silently for the man in his arms.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>comm = short for "communicator" (a small device on the wrist used for calling others that has a built in holographic projector or "holo")</p><p><em>Épice</em> = French word for "Spice" (a fictional drug that I also stole from Star Wars)</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Recovery</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Javert had calmed down somewhat, his violent sobs lessening to occasional sniffles. He leaned back and Valjean’s hand, which had been stroking gently down Javert’s back, fell away. </p><p>“Why…” Javert asked quietly, not meeting Valjean’s gaze.</p><p>“Why, what?”</p><p>“Why did you save me?”</p><p>“Because… Because I could not let you die,” Valjean answered honestly. </p><p>Javert lifted his head and looked at him through puffy reddened eyes. Then they suddenly widened and he looked stricken.</p><p>"Rivette… They killed him, Valjean!" he exclaimed and twisted his fingers in his already disheveled hair. </p><p>"I'm sorry… Was he a colleague?"</p><p>"Yes, one of my Officers… I know I am expendable. A mutt… <em>Alien</em>,” Javert said, observing the nails of his ungloved left hand and his nose scrunched as if disgusted with what he saw. </p><p>"Javert—!" Valjean started to protest.</p><p>"It is the truth! But Rivette… He is— was a good man. A good Officer! One of the best. Inner Rim. And this is what he gets as thanks for his service? They killed him without hesitation! Wrote him off as collateral damage, like his life was worth nothing!!" </p><p>It seemed like Javert's eyes would open at last towards the truth of the rule they lived under, and Valjean would gladly help him along.</p><p>"That is what this Empire has always been. We have no worth in the eyes of <em>Empereur</em> Hugo. He does with us what he pleases.” Valjean heard the bitterness fill his voice as he continued speaking. “He works us to death in his mines, lets us do his dirty work. Pits us against each other and collects the profits. Can you see it now, Javert? We are all prisoners, slaves of the system. As long as Hugo still stands, none of us will ever truly be free…” </p><p>Javert’s face was filled with anguish. He clenched his fists and began hitting himself. </p><p>"Curse me!!"—Valjean quickly grabbed his arms and forced them still—"I have been a fool! I have been blind all this time! I thought what I enforced was justice… But I have only been a tool of cruelty! They killed… Oh, <em>merde!</em> My colleagues did not even hesitate when they shot G-Gavroche!" Javert said and lowered his head, hands twitching as if he had wanted to lift them to hide his face. </p><p>"Who is Gavroche?" Valjean asked, loosening his grip on Javert’s arms.</p><p>"The boy. The child who was with the insurgents. He could not have been more than ten. Only a child!" </p><p>Valjean had a vague memory of a kid running around the cantina and hanging with the young revolutionaries. How cruel that the child had lost his life on June.</p><p>"Oh… I had seen him before. That's horrible! He shouldn't have been there!”</p><p>"He had sneaked aboard their ship I believe… It doesn't matter now anyway. He is gone…" Javert said, his whole body slumping down as if all the fight had left him.</p><p><em>Javert must be exhausted,</em> Valjean thought, and he looked terrible, face covered in soot, tear-tracks, burns, and dried blood from several cuts. His eyes were swollen and circled by dark shadows and his hair had partially escaped the braid, hanging in disarray around his face. His clothes were torn and dirty and Javert must have injured himself in several places with the way he winced every time he moved. </p><p>“Let’s get you to the bunk. I will check you over for injuries and patch you up, and afterward, you can rest. C’mon,” Valjean encouraged and helped Javert up to a standing position. </p><p>The man did not resist when Valjean placed Javert’s arm over his shoulders and supported him with a hand on his narrow waist. Slowly, they made their way to the upper floor, towards the sleeping quarters. As they walked, small sounds of pain escaped between the man's lips, and Valjean swore to himself that he would never again leave Javert behind.</p><p>━━━━━━༻✦༺━━━━━━</p><p>Valjean had deposited Javert on the lower bunk bed, where the man sat now with his legs hanging from the side.</p><p>"Where does it hurt?" Valjean asked, standing before the bed.</p><p>"Everywhere," Javert answered after a small moment of contemplation.</p><p>"Well, we will start with the leg then. You can't seem to put weight on it," Valjean said and coughed, scratching the back of his neck awkwardly. "Unfortunately, I don't have a scanner so I must examine you manually, and"—he coughed again—"I'll have to undress you…" </p><p>"Alright," Javert answered easily, as if it was no matter, while Valjean’s mouth had gone dry and heat had risen to his face.</p><p>Valjean bent down and pulled off Javert's boots quickly before he could regret everything and run out of the room. The man tensed up and let out a pained sound when the left boot was removed, making Valjean’s forehead wrinkle in worry. He assisted Javert out of his ripped coat and opened the clasps to remove his chest-armor. Javert aided him in removing the gauntlets on his forearms and the wrist-holo, his belt, his knee-armor, and the holsters strapped to his thighs. Now, there was only one thing left… Valjean could only hope that Javert did not notice the embarrassed flush that had overtaken his face, but to his relief, the man had not looked up yet. </p><p>He helped Javert strip off his navy ribbed body glove, which was speckled with blood and dust. To Valjean’s dismay, the man was nearly nude underneath it, but at least his nether regions were covered by a pair of trunks, even if their tightness left nothing to the imagination… Javert did not seem embarrassed by being exposed like this. He just sat there passively and let Valjean handle him without any trace of protest. Maybe the trauma had left him numb, or had Javert always been this confident and unashamed?</p><p>Valjean pulled up a stool, sat down in front of the bared man, and bent down to examine Javert's long legs. They looked slender but he could feel the firm muscles underneath as he traced his hands over them to check for breaks and points of tenderness. Javert’s left leg was not broken as Valjean had feared, but he had sprained his ankle. It was red and swollen. </p><p>Valjean opened the medical box on the ground, which he had fetched from the supply room, and took out a tub of gel and a roll of bandages. Carefully he took Javert’s foot and placed it in his lap. This whole thing was feeling more intimate than he had anticipated, especially as Javert was sitting practically naked on Valjean's bunk. Trying to focus on the task at hand, Valjean gently smeared the cooling gel around the injury. Javert let out a soft moan and Valjean froze. Swallowing audibly, he dared to glance up. Javert’s eyes were closed and his face was relaxed. Of course, the cold must have soothed the pain and the man was feeling relieved. There was nothing strange about that. Still, Valjean cursed his traitorous brain that kept replaying that innocent sound, turning it obscene in his mind. </p><p>Shaking his head, he unrolled the elastic bandages and began wrapping it up tightly around Javert’s foot and ankle to stabilize it and help reduce the swelling. He tried to concentrate as he worked but he could not help but cast occasional glances upwards and lamented when his gaze kept deviating to the dark planes and valleys of Javert's lean body. The man seemed so calm, could he not feel the palpable tension in the air?</p><p>Placing the foot delicately back on the ground, Valjean focused on his next task: to examine Javert’s chest and abdomen. He prayed for strength and tried to ignore the sparse curls peppering Javert’s chest and trailing down his abdomen past the band of his trunks. Javert's ribs were pronounced in a way that would worry him if he had been Human, but Valjean knew too little about Aloir physique to be able to determine if it was unhealthy or normal. The man hissed when Valjean probed at a particularly large and nasty bruise expanding over his right rib cage. </p><p>"You have probably broken, or at least cracked a rib. I've noticed your breaths are shallow," Valjean observed.</p><p>"It hurts when I breathe deeper."</p><p>"I will give you a pain-numbing shot after I've examined you for other injuries. You must breathe normally if you do not want to infect your lungs," Valjean explained, taking out the shot and placing it on the ground to use later. </p><p>“Turn around so I may examine your back,” he ordered and Javert obediently shuffled around on the bed. </p><p>His breath caught in his throat when Javert’s back was revealed to him, and it was not the fresh bruises that caught his gaze. </p><p>"Javert! What is this?!" Valjean exclaimed, horrified by the raised scars crisscrossing the expanse of bronze skin; the unmistakable burn marks left by a vibro-whip. Marks that Valjean was intimately familiar with as he had countless similar ones marring his own back. </p><p>"You don't think I was punished for facilitating your escape?" Javert answered with a mirthless laugh. </p><p>"But you did not—!"</p><p>"You think it mattered whether I did or not? No, it was a perfect opportunity for them to do what they had always wanted! The truth did not matter. Now they no longer had to whisper behind my back or restrain themselves, they could spit it to my face and assault me as they wished!” Javert had tensed up during his speech, his tone tinged with anger, but now his shoulders slumped again. “It lasted a month before Chabouillet had me transferred to the Police. Well, I was some kind of personal experiment, to test if aliens such as myself could be tamed. But it was better than the alternative. If he had not chosen to mentor me and convince his superiors to have me moved, I'm sure I would have died on Toulon…" </p><p>Valjean’s throat was burning with the effort of holding back his tears. The flood of guilt threatened to suffocate him. </p><p>"I'm… I'm sorry… I'm so sorry, Javert," Valjean choked out and tipped his head forwards without thinking, resting his forehead against the man's upper back.</p><p>"I deserved it," Javert said quietly.  </p><p>"No! No, you did not. I am sorry, Javert. I did not mean for you to get hurt! My conscience has plagued me for years after what happened. I am so sorry for causing you so much pain…" </p><p>That was when he noticed Javert had tensed up, his breaths coming unusually fast and shallow, and Valjean’s brain caught up with what he had been doing. His forehead was leaning against Javert's back and he had been caressing the man's sides, up and down, while he spoke. Mortified, Valjean quickly leaned back, removed his hands away from Javert's waist, and willed his face to stop burning like a fuel tank.</p><p>"Turn back so I can examine your arms…” Valjean said, voice coming out a bit strained. </p><p>When Javert turned around, Valjean noticed that his cheeks had colored noticeably. <em>Not so unaffected after all,</em> he thought and felt a strange kind of satisfaction at that.</p><p>Various bruises had bloomed over Javert’s arms but thankfully nothing was broken. When Valjean took hold of Javert's ungloved left hand, to look for injuries, Javert flinched and Valjean realized that his wrist was hurt. He treated it the same way he had done with the ankle: with a cooling gel and wrapping it up securely in bandages. As he was doing it, Valjean thought of how his fist had struck Javert once and how the same hand was now caring for him. One time Javert had fixed his broken nose, now it was Valjean's turn to fix him up. It was the least Valjean could do to pay back for what he had done and the consequences his actions had brought forth. </p><p>Holding Javert's hand in his palm, Valjean noticed the long nails that almost looked like manicured Human nails, but Valjean knew they must be a trace from the sharp claws that Aloirs bore, a fact he had happened upon during his research. Curiosity rose within him, <em>was Javert not a full-blooded Aloir?</em></p><p>Valjean gasped in surprise when he removed the glove to reveal the right hand. Javert’s hand was a bionic prosthetic! The shade of the synthetic skin was mismatched to the skin of the flesh and blood arm that connected to it. <em>The hand must have been damaged on June,</em> Valjean mused, because the fingers twitched involuntarily as if signals misfired and short-circuited. Javert winced when Valjean touched the malfunctioning limb. </p><p>"How did you come by this? You did not have it on Montreuil. I would've felt it," Valjean asked him, brimming with curiosity. </p><p>"I was arresting an infamous group of smugglers on Gorbeau. The wife of their leader threw a huge block of <em>duracier</em> towards me and I did not have time to move aside fully. At least my hand reflexively shot out to guard my face, otherwise, it would have been my head that was crushed,"—Javert looked down at his bionic hand—"It was a mess, but also one of my greatest achievements. I arrested the whole bunch and it got me the promotion to Chief Inspector!" Javert looked proud of the fact for a moment but then his face fell and he turned dejected instead. “Anyway, it does not matter anymore…”</p><p>"I was a mechanic once, a long time ago. I happen to be an expert on bionic limbs, especially old models such as yours. I can see it is malfunctioning. Will you let me fix it?" he asked and Javert gazed up at him, confused.</p><p>"You say it's faulty?" </p><p>Valjean nodded and Javert looked skeptically at his hand, which continued to twitch. </p><p>"Very well. Do what you must." </p><p>"Great! I shall go to fetch my tools," Valjean exclaimed and stood up.</p><p>He quickly retrieved his toolbox from the cargo hold and hurried back and sat down on the stool by the bunk. Wordlessly, Javert extended his hand for Valjean to take. The man clenched his teeth and stifled a grunt in obvious pain when Valjean took hold of his hand. This confused Valjean, because it seemed like mere touch was painful for Javert. Valjean placed the hand on his knee, folded the synthetic skin away from the hatch hidden on Javert's inner wrist, and used one of his tools to carefully open it to see what the problem was. The problem was soon apparent.</p><p>“Javert… Where is the Black wire?” Valjean asked worriedly. </p><p>“What?” Javert appeared confused. </p><p>“The Black— Never mind. Who did you go to for this? It's all done very poorly!" Valjean said and made a frustrated noise. </p><p>"A scrap merchant on Gorbeau offered to do it for me cheaper than if I had gone to a Medcenter. He said he was a mechanic and he would use a recycled limb which he had salvaged. It was still expensive. I could barely afford it and I had to skip some meals, but it was better than nothing," Javert said with a shrug and Valjean looked pained.</p><p>That fraudster had probably been no mechanic. The craftsmanship was appalling and Valjean quietly swore that he would create a new, properly crafted hand for Javert in the future. The state of the wiring was a disgrace! </p><p>"<em>Stars</em>, you must be in constant pain! Wires are missing! Without the Black one for negative feedback, any tactile signal will just keep looping, making your pain receptors fire constantly!” Valjean said and then he gingerly took hold of Javert's hand. "It will make the softest touch feel painful." </p><p>Javert hissed as Valjean's thumb, very gently, caressed his wrist. </p><p>“Oh… I thought that was normal,” Javert confessed. "I thought mechanical limbs were always painful," he said, looking miserable. </p><p>"Don't worry, Javert. I'm sure I have a roll of that wire stashed here somewhere," Valjean reassured as he searched inside his toolbox. "Aha!" he exclaimed triumphantly as he found it. "I'm going to fix it, don't you worry!"</p><p>Valjean tinkered, fiddled, and rearranged the wires inside Javert's wrist, while Javert hissed, flinched, and cursed in intervals. At last, he soldered the missing wire to the bunch, closed the hatch, and folded the synthetic skin shut, looking expectantly up at Javert. </p><p>"Go on then! Move your fingers." </p><p>Javert reluctantly clenched his fist, and then he opened and closed his fingers experimentally. He looked surprised at the absence of pain and Valjean took hold of his hand, just like before, and caressed his wrist with a thumb. Javert tensed up, as if in anticipation of the old familiar sting, but his eyes widened as it evidently did not come. The man stared in shock at the moving thumb, which Valjean deduced must now feel like a proper caress. He could not help but smile broadly when a startled little laugh escaped Javert. </p><p>”You are good at this,“ Javert croaked out. </p><p>"I'm glad I could help. Nobody should suffer pain from a gentle touch," Valjean spoke and felt how his smile broadened impossibly. </p><p>“Thank you…” Javert mumbled and averted his eyes.</p><p>When color rose on Javert's cheeks again, Valjean noticed that he had not yet let go of his hand. He did so swiftly, masking his embarrassment with a cough. Now he had come upon the last part of the examination. Willing his hands not to shake, Valjean took out a cleansing wipe from the medical box and lifted his hand to Javert’s face. He started cleaning him off soot and dried blood, wiping gently down his face. They were so close like this. Surely Javert could hear the mad hammering of his heart? He was thankful that Javert had closed his eyes, if he had been forced to look into that mesmerizing gaze Valjean did not know what he would have done. </p><p>When Javert's face was clean at last, Valjean dabbed the cuts on his forehead and cheeks with disinfectant. The cuts were shallow and did not need any glue, they would close up on their own without leaving scars. The burns on face, on the other hand, needed attention. He took out a tub of burn-slave and Javert’s eyelids fluttered as Valjean smeared it across his cheeks and along his nose. Neither of them breathed. </p><p>At last, Valjean wiped his fingers on a rag and picked up the pain-numbing shot. He noticed how Javert gazed at it from the corner of his eyes, looking uneasy.</p><p>“It will only sting a bit,” he reassured and the taller man reluctantly let him take hold of an arm, screwing his eyes tightly shut and turning his face away. </p><p>Valjean pressed the shot against his upper arm and activated the mechanism that extended the needle, delivering the medicine. Javert hissed and jumped a bit but it was already over in a second. Valjean smiled at his reaction. Who would have known that Javert was afraid of shots?</p><p>“You can rest now. I will be up in the cockpit,” Valjean informed him and helped him lay back on the bed. </p><p>Valjean took the pillow from the bunk above and placed it under Javert’s leg so that his injured ankle would stay elevated. Then he pulled the blanket over Javert. It was heat-insulated so the man would not freeze. He did not know if Javert usually slept with clothes or only underwear or… Anyway, the conclusion was that Javert would not be cold sleeping like this and Valjean could search for clothes that would fit the taller man in the meantime. Before leaving, Valjean looked around the room to make sure no sharp things were lying around. He was not going to take any risks. Not with what Javert had tried to do earlier! When he found nothing, his gaze settled back on the man in his bed. He had pulled the blanket down, exposing the top half of his chest. This made Valjean's mind turn to less pure thoughts. Quickly, he dimmed the lights of the room and walked out, willing his brain to stop recalling the expanse of Javert’s skin and the relieved sound he had made when the cooling gel had soothed his pain. </p><p>━━━━━━༻✦༺━━━━━━</p><p>With hours on his hands, Valjean had time to contemplate his own emotions, especially those that had risen in Javert’s presence. During all of these past years, he had explained away the restless nights by reasoning that he was an old and lonely man, and it was only natural that his body would crave such things from time to time. His brain had conjured up the man in both dreams and nightmares, was it then not logical that it put Javert into <em>those</em> kinds of dreams, as well? It was perfectly plausible. Except now, with the real flesh and blood Javert beside him, not something his brain had created, Valjean still felt the same paralyzing emotions. His heart raced and his blood heated in the same way. What had been an impossible fantasy, the mere daydreams of an old man, stood now before him, and this terrified Valjean.</p><p>He knew, of course, that he was attracted to Javert. He had been forced to admit it to himself, recalling the way his heart had beaten a marathon and lips had twitched into the trace of a smile whenever the guard had walked past on his patrols. He even freely admitted that there had always been a subconscious yearning inside him ever since he had escaped Toulon and left Javert behind. What scared him was how deep these feelings went. He had left the rescue of his own daughter to Éponine and had gone after Javert instead. What did that mean? What would he have done if Éponine had not been there? Valjean did not dare answer that question, and so he turned his thoughts into another direction. </p><p>Was what he felt for Javert mere attraction, just a fleeting desire of the flesh? The basest of passions of the Human heart? No. Something more. Was then this emotion, this terrible mix of despair and elation that gripped his heart whenever his thoughts strayed to that man, what most beings considered the <em>chef-d'oeuvre</em>* of life... <em>love?</em> If Valjean searched the deepest parts of his soul for the truth, would the answer be yes? No, he could not do such a thing yet! An urgent thought gnawed at the back of his brain; there could be a disastrous explanation for what he felt, and Valjean was forced to face this frightening possibility. There was a thing that he had come across during his research of Javert’s species. Something that could explain everything Valjean experienced. The very notion of being manipulated disgusted him greatly, and he shied away from the possibility of confronting Javert about it. The answers he sought could only be provided by the subject of his plight. He had tried searching on the holo-net, but there was not much information about Aloirs, to begin with. There was only one option left, to ask the only person aboard this ship who had the answers. <em>Oh, Stars!</em> No, he could not do it! How would he even bring up the subject!? </p><p>Valjean contemplated thus in agony, mind going around in circles, while stars streaked past the windows as the ship continued its journey through hyperspace. </p><p>━━━━━━༻✦༺━━━━━━</p><p>It was the warning alarm that woke Valjean up from his slumber and he rose just in time to feel the great lurch as the ship prematurely fell out of hyperspace. <em>This is not good at all,</em> Valjean thought and hurried to run a diagnostic to see why they had been forced out of the jump. When the results came back, he found that the reason they had stopped, only five hours into their journey, was worse than he had initially thought. The ship had been steadily leaking fuel out of the primary tank and Valjean realized that the hull of the tank must have been damaged during the bombardment on June. Now they were almost out of fuel, only a small amount remaining inside the secondary tank, and stranded in the middle of nowhere! To spare the rest for the life-support systems, Valjean shut off the engines, thus letting the ship drift in open space. </p><p>His mind ran a mile a minute as he tried to calculate how long the fuel would last them and how much supplies they had left. This way, the ship was left exposed, an easy target for pirates and smugglers. Valjean was just happy that this route was a very rarely traveled one so he was fairly certain nobody would stumble upon them, which also meant no one would find and rescue them. Valjean tried to comm Cosette and then Éponine but the signal was not reaching them because they were still traveling through hyperspace. Valjean had no choice but to wait until the others arrived at Paris so they could receive the message about his and Javert's unfortunate predicament. They were going to be left stranded in space for hours before they could be retrieved… </p><p>Valjean went to the sleeping quarters to see if the other man had woken up, but Javert was still fast asleep on the cot. The man must have been truly exhausted to not have woken up from the violent jolt of their exit from hyperspace. He was sleeping, all curled up on himself, like an unborn babe. The usually imposing man looked so small and vulnerable like this. Valjean had to quench the urge to slip underneath the covers to spoon him. Instead, he pulled the blanket higher, cocooning Javert up to the chin. The man relaxed somewhat in his sleep, the wrinkles on his forehead smoothing out. </p><p>To prevent himself from doing something as creepy as sitting down to watch while the man slept, Valjean exited the room to check over their supplies in the storage hold. It looked like they had enough foodstuffs and water to last a week. Valjean silently thanked himself for always planning ahead for unexpected events and after an hour of cataloging their provisions, he went back to the cockpit and settled down for the wait. </p><p>━━━━━━༻✦༺━━━━━━</p><p>When Javert woke up, he did not quite remember where he was and disoriented as he was, he stood up too fast. His world spun around as the ground tilted and he fell back onto the bed, breath hitching at the pain that flared up from this side. It took him a moment to regain his bearing, but then he recalled the past day and remembered how Jean Valjean had saved his life... twice. The world did not make sense anymore! His whole life had been wasted for nothing!! He had followed the rules and law of the galaxy to a fault. The scale of justice had always been unbalanced but Javert had never removed the blindfold… until now. The June Rebellion had ripped it from his eyes, had revealed the horror of reality, and when Javert had decided to impale himself on the figurative sword, to deliver the swift and final justice he deserved, Jean Valjean had stayed his hand, stopping him from flinging himself into the raging river of hyperspace. And earlier, the man had unexplainably appeared on June, just in time to miraculously deflect the bolt that would have burnt a hole through Javert’s heart. A heart that had laid dormant for decades, to now wake anew! What a terrible agony!! What a dreadful thing, to feel again!! </p><p>Thus, Javert sat on the bunk and lifted his hands to tug at his whiskers and run them through his disheveled hair, trying to process the whirlpool of emotions that threatened to drown him. As he pulled viciously at a matted strand of hair with his bionic hand, he noticed again how the action no longer pained him. Lowering the limb, Javert gazed at the fingers that no longer twitched and he clenched and unclenched his fist, recalling how expertly Valjean had repaired it.  </p><p>At that moment, the door to the room opened and Javert raised his glowing eyes to see Valjean step inside. </p><p>“You are awake,” Valjean stated, unnecessarily. Javert just blinked at him.</p><p>“We have an unfortunate problem. The ship was damaged on June and we are now almost out of fuel, which means we are stuck out here. But don’t worry, I have sent out a message for help and it will reach the others as soon as they’re out of hyperspace. We'll just have to wait,” Valjean explained, looking apologetic.</p><p>Javert nodded and then noticed the bundle of cloth which the man carried in his arms. Valjean saw where his gaze had settled and opened his mouth to explain.</p><p>“I found a pair of fatigues. They may not exactly fit you right but they were the closest I could find,” the man said, but when Javert held out his hand to reach for them, Valjean did not move.</p><p>“I have a sonic shower if you want to get rid of all that grime and soot…” Valjean said, gesturing at Javert in general.</p><p>Javert realized that he must look awful and suddenly felt itchy all over, disgusted with the dirt on his hair and body. He desperately needed to take that shower.</p><p>“All right,” he said and accepted Valjean’s offer to help him walk there. </p><p>The journey to the refresher* was a bit too long for Javert’s comfort. He wore only a pair of short trunks and Valjean’s hands were therefore settled against naked skin. The points of contact burned as if the man’s palms were the very surfaces of suns. When Javert, at last, stood alone in the shower stall, he silently wished for the luxury of a proper water-based shower, so that he could have soaked himself in ice to reduce the heat that had overcome him… </p><p>When he finally stepped out of the shower, he took the fatigues from where Valjean had placed them on top of the refresher seat and put them on with a fair bit of struggle, accompanied by a handful of colorful expletives. Limping, he walked out, using the doorway for support and saw that Valjean was leaning against the opposite wall of the corridor, waiting for him. When the man looked up, his eyes widened, his lips twitched and he coughed suspiciously into a hand, as if trying to mask a laugh. Javert looked down at himself and understood the problem. The gray jumpsuit looked both comically big and contradictory small on his frame. It hung off his narrower shoulders, the fabric pooling weirdly over his slender torso, but the sleeves and legs were far too short. He realized this must be one of Valjean's spare fatigues; their body types were clearly very different. </p><p>"I look ridiculous," he complained, looking up to see that Valjean had turned red with the effort to hold back his chuckles. His comment must have opened the gates of the dam because the bearded man burst out in guffaws. </p><p>"I'm sorry, Javert! That does not fit you at all," the man said, in between laughter.</p><p>"At least I don’t look like a clown," Javert huffed, looking Valjean up and down. His outfit was an eyesore. "Must you insist on wearing that yellow tail-jacket? It clashes terribly with your green coverall. It offends my eyes!" </p><p>"You are not the first one to say so, but I do not understand the problem. What is wrong with yellow? I love yellow! I think it’s my favorite color. Well, maybe closely tied with blue, ice-blue…" Valjean said and then his eyes widened and quickly looked away.</p><p>Did the man imply that one of his favorite colors was the exact shade of Javert's eyes? Javert’s heart gave a little lurch at that. What was he supposed to do with this information?! </p><p>"Hey, now that you're clean and in fresh clothes, that nest you've got on your head really looks out of place," Valjean said after a moment, eyes filled with mirth, and Javert self consciously raised a hand to his disheveled hair. </p><p>"I tried to fix it but I could not manage with only one hand," Javert mumbled, lifting his bandaged wrist to indicate the problem.</p><p>"I can comb and braid it if you like. I'm somewhat of an expert," Valjean offered, a distant smile on his face as if remembering fond memories.</p><p><em>Why would Valjean be an expert at that? Whose hair had he braided?!</em> An unfamiliar feeling was creeping into his chest. It was a kind of gnawing sensation inside his gut, as if a barbed wire had encircled his heart, not quite tight enough to pierce it, but enough to bring unignorable discomfort. He did not like the idea of Valjean running his deft fingers through someone else's hair. But that did not concern Javert at all! Why did he care?! Javert was too tired to try and analyze his own mind (because deep down he knew why he cared, but he could not accept that yet) and the only thing he was interested in right now was to let Valjean touch his hair. It was probably a bad idea, but what did he have left to lose?</p><p>“I would like that. I-I mean that would be acceptable.” <em>Merde!</em> He almost gave it away.</p><p>Valjean cleared his throat and stretched out his arm for Javert to take. Reluctantly, he let himself slink back into Valjean’s arms and be led back to the room with the bunk bed. </p><p>━━━━━━༻✦༺━━━━━━</p><p>He closed his eyes as he felt the comb run through his hair. Javert was sitting on the cot, with his back to Valjean, while the other man sat on the stool. He brushed so softly; the gentle tugs did not cause any pain at all. After a while, Valjean put down the brush and suddenly his calloused fingers were in Javert’s hair, parting it into two sections. A finger grazed the top of Javert’s pointed ear and he could not help the hitch of his breath. They were so close; he could feel Valjean’s warm puffs of breath against the exposed part of his neck. The man was so quick with his hands, taking small sections of hair from both sides and joining them together, starting from the crown of his head, and it was clear he had done this countless times before. Javert always made the same simple plait, but this was clearly something more advanced and he was curious to see how it looked like. Valjean kept joining opposing strands together until he reached the nape of his neck, then he swiftly continued down, braiding the long part of the hair that remained free, until he finished, securing his creation with a ribbon. </p><p>“There.”</p><p>Javert raised a hand to the top of his head and let his fingers travel over the braid, which somehow seemed to be woven to his scalp. As he got to the free part, that hung down his back, his hand accidentally slid over Valjean’s, and Javert’s heart skipped a beat as he realized the man had not released the braid but had been holding it in his hand. Valjean removed the hand as if burned, and Javert let his fall back into his lap. The very air was saturated in some strange tension and Javert did not dare breathe. It was Valjean who broke the loaded silence with a whisper, as he took hold of the braid again, slowly running his hand down it.</p><p>“Your hair is so soft and silky…” He sounded awed. “I have not felt anything like it. Is it because you are Aloir?” </p><p>“Maybe? I don’t know. I am only half-Aloir,” he admitted quietly and the man let out a little gasp of surprise, letting go of the braid.</p><p>Javert slowly turned around to meet his eyes.</p><p>“My mother was a whore. She made the Humans want her body so they would pay heaps of credits for using it. She was caught, of course, and sentenced to Toulon, but she couldn't stop there, could she?” Javert spoke out in disgust and Valjean was staring at him with wide eyes. “She got herself knocked up by one of the convicts; a father I have never met. I was born on Toulon," he finished, with a sigh.</p><p>Valjean opened and closed his mouth, and then his eyes widened further.</p><p>"You're half-Human! I always wondered… I read that Aloirs don't grow facial hair," the man said and then he reached out his hand, and suddenly his fingers were stroking Javert’s whiskers! </p><p>Javert’s sharp intake of breath seemed to wake Valjean from his strange trance and he let out a high-pitched sound as if shocked by what his hand was doing. He drew back his limb with hyperspeed and turned red from neck to hairline.<em> It contrasts beautifully with his snow-white locks</em>, Javert thought, then he paused and filed the thought away for later examination. </p><p>"I wish I could grow a full beard, like you, but it only grows on my cheeks," he said and pulled at his whiskers in annoyance. "Maybe I would look more Human then, and less like the worthless <em>half-breed</em> I am…" </p><p>“You are worth so much, Javert!! Don't say that!” Valjean yelled. He had stood up from the stool and gripped Javert’s shoulders.  </p><p>“No, Valjean. I am nothing, and we both know it. Just an ugly alie—” </p><p>“Stop!! First of all, you are definitely <em>not</em> ugly!” </p><p>Javert scoffed at that. <em>Yeah right, Valjean!</em> Javert was not blind; he had seen himself in the mirror and that face was decidedly unpleasant.</p><p>“Always the liar…” he drawled, self-deprecatingly, and watched as Valjean bristled.</p><p>“I’m telling the truth!! You are the most beautiful thing I—!” Valjean’s passionate speech stopped abruptly, and he fell onto the stool, his eyes widening as if his brain only now caught up to what his mouth had been uttering. </p><p><em>Now he realizes the truth</em>, Javert thought. You only needed to take one good look at Javert to see how very unappealing he was. It was good that Valjean finally accepted that, but then, <em>why did it feel like a wound had opened inside his chest?</em> Javert’s lips twisted into a humorless smile and he opened his mouth, but Jean Valjean spoke first. The man had stood up once more and he was trembling, eyes flashing with righteous anger.</p><p>“I'm telling you the truth!! You are the reason I did not perish in that hell! You were my <em>raison de vivre</em>*! You don’t even know it but you gave me hope when I thought I had lost it forever! I’m sorry you can’t see it yourself, but you are perfect!!” The man was breathing heavily after that confession, hands balled into fists by his sides, but it did not prevent them from shaking.</p><p>Jean Valjean had just accidentally cracked the <em>duracier</em> wall with his words, crumbling it into dust, and all of Javert's long-buried emotions came pouring out in a great avalanche. In less than a second, he had sprung up from the bed and clenched his fists into the fabric of Valjean’s jacket.</p><p>“YOU LEFT ME THERE!! IF I’M SO <em>PERFECT</em>, WHY DID YOU LEAVE ME!?” Javert screamed in his face, voice cracking. “Why did you— You— You k—!” He could not say the word; it caught in his throat and burned where it lodged. “And then you punched me in the face! I do not understand! You used me!! I saw how you watched me! I thought— I thought you—! But you were manipulating me!! Why else— Why else would you just—?!” His vision had blurred with unshed tears and his voice had turned hoarse from the volume he was using. “You showed me that criminals never change! Once a convict, always a convict!! But… But now you saved me… I don’t understand! Nothing makes sense!!”</p><p>“Javert!! Javert, please! I did not manipulate you!! All of that was true! I asked you to come with me! I wanted us to flee together!! Why did you not, Javert!? Why!?” Valjean’s face was twisted in anguish and his hands circled Javert’s upper arms.</p><p>"I-I did not want to prove them right! That I was scum like my parents!! That I would always end up a criminal, no matter what path I chose! That I would side with a fugitive!! But,”—Javert’s arms fell back to his sides and his shoulders slumped in defeat—”I guess they accused me of that anyway…"</p><p>"We would have avoided so much grief if you had taken my hand then," Valjean sighed, sounding weary as well. "But, I guess I would never have met Cosette that way…"</p><p>Javert felt the inexplicable emotion grip him once more, and this time he could pinpoint what it was: something astonishingly similar to jealousy… It was a foreign feeling, one he had not known since he was a small child, and one he had never felt to this effect. The intensity of it scared him. </p><p>"Who is Cosette?" His voice came out unintentionally sharp.</p><p>"Oh, she’s my daughter,” the man answered easily.</p><p>“You… You have a daughter?”</p><p>“Yes. But not by blood,” Valjean said, interrupting Javert’s thoughts (which had gone around in circles, refusing to accept that the man had sired a child with someone and probably had a loving family waiting for him at home). “Do you remember the child I took with me when I fled Montreuil-sur-Route? I raised her as my own—"</p><p>Javert's instant relief at hearing that Cosette was just an adoptive daughter was quickly replaced by dawning comprehension. His eyes widened as long-buried memories rose to the surface of his mind. <em>The crying child in Valjean's arms, as he jumped off that platform.</em> And then he recalled the child's mother; the Uette with the haggard wings that had begged him for mercy. <em>The woman he had murdered…</em> Bile rose at the back of Javert's throat as guilt assaulted him suddenly. He had never contemplated that woman before, the memory of her buried under hundreds of layers of <em>duracier</em>. He had never regretted it, never spared a single thought. Now, with his reawakened conscience he was tortured by horror and remorse at how he had robbed that child of their mother, pushing the woman aside like she was nothing, inadvertently causing her passing. The cries of the child echoed inside his head as the scene flashed before his closed eyes.</p><p>"Javert…" </p><p>He felt how Valjean began stroking fresh tears away from his cheeks. </p><p>"I… I killed her—" His voice failed as a broken sob escaped. Of course, Valjean understood instantly what he was referring to.</p><p>"It was an accident. You did not do it on purpos—"</p><p>"But I didn't care! I didn't feel a thing! I haven't felt anything for so long, I—" He broke into earnest hiccuping sobs and let himself collapse into Valjean's willing arms as they both sank to the floor. </p><p>"I am a m-monster!" Javert cried and Valjean hugged him closer and began stroking his back in a soothing manner.</p><p>"You are not a monster, Javert. You are just a man who made mistakes. We all make them. I have made countless of them. The key is to realize that what you did was wrong and be willing to change for the better. I can see your regret, how it pains you. But the past is in the past, Javert, nobody can go back and fix it. There is no point in revisiting bad memories again and again except to bring you further anguish,” Valjean spoke softly, cradling Javert as he kept weeping with convulsive gasps. </p><p>“What you can do is to change the future. Change how you act to become a better man, like I have tried to do. I must tell you it is hard and terrifying, but not impossible. As a guard, you were so merciful, Javert. So kind and fair… That place stripped a convict of their dignity and turned them into animals, but you showed us respect and made us feel like persons again. Do you know how much that meant? You are capable of so much goodness, Javert. It is hiding inside you,”—Valjean placed a hand on Javert's chest, just over his heart—“you just have to set it free once more," the man finished and Javert, who had calmed a little, tilted his head up to look at him with puffy eyes.</p><p>“How?” Javert croaked out and the man smiled warmly.</p><p>"I will tell you about a monk who changed my life…" he began and Javert listened.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p><em>chef-d'oeuvre</em> = a masterpiece</p><p>refresher = bathroom (term stolen from Star Wars)</p><p><em>raison de vivre</em> = a reason for living/a reason to live</p><p>I could not resist putting in a nod to the Black wire! (credit to Chab and Hei who created the meme)</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Reprieve</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Valjean had just finished his story. He had told Javert all about how Myriel had brought him to the temple on Digne, how the monk had told him that all souls were worth saving and had gifted him his own ship, and how Valjean had cried when he had discovered that the cargo hold had been loaded with crates full of <em>adamantine</em>. Valjean was wiping away the tears that the memory of that kind man had brought forth, when the communicator on his wrist started beeping. Checking it, he saw that it was Cosette who was calling him!</p><p>"Cosette! Are you alright?! Are you unharmed?!" he shouted as soon as he had opened the device. </p><p>"Papa!!" Cosette exclaimed as the holo of her face materialized above his wrist. As far as Valjean could see, she did not look gravely injured, and Cosette confirmed it as she continued: "Yes, just some scratches. I'll live. Éponine is alright. Marius hurt his arm, but he'll live too. Are you okay?" </p><p>"Yes, don't worry about me. We have supplies to last a couple of days yet." </p><p>"We?" Cosette asked, sounding confused. </p><p>"Uh… Yes, I have someone with me. I could not leave him behind to die there. He is hurt but recovering," Valjean said as he looked down towards Javert, who had not moved from the spot on the floor they had sat on, and was now looking up at him through his fringe, listening in on the conversation.</p><p>"Of course, Papa. I'm not surprised. You’re such a kind man!" Cosette said with a fond laugh. "Who is—"</p><p>"Cosette, you can speak about all of this later," the voice of Éponine interrupted.</p><p>"Yes, sorry!" his daughter answered and Éponine’s face replaced her’s.</p><p>"Monsieur, where are you exactly? Send me the coordinates."</p><p>"Here," Valjean spoke as soon as he had sent them over. Then he paused and lowered his voice. "And Éponine… I have our mutual acquaintance with me." </p><p>"I suspected that," the girl said and raised one eyebrow. </p><p>"He's not the same man. He is willing to change," Valjean said, as he met Javert’s gaze.</p><p>"Alright, alright, Monsieur. I trust you. Although, it might be harder to convince these two hotheads," she said as she discreetly looked to the side, presumably where Cosette and Marius were situated.</p><p>"I'll speak to them when you arrive." </p><p>"Good luck with that,” she said with a chuckle, but then her smile fell and she turned serious. “There is something else, Monsieur. Riots are going on right now on Paris! The streets are filled with people and the air is heavy with smoke from grenades. I saw Gendarmes on the ground and we did not dare land.”</p><p>“What?!” Valjean asked in shock. Javert had tensed up, as well.</p><p>“Yes, things are not looking good, but we’ll speak on this later. We’re coming to get you both! See you in a couple of hours,” the girl reassured and the call was cut off.</p><p>Valjean lowered his arm and looked towards the other man.</p><p>“Only a couple of hours and they will be here. We can—” Valjean was interrupted by a loud rumble that sounded from where Javert sat. When the man’s eyes widened and cheeks reddened, Valjean realized that it must have come from his stomach.</p><p>“On second thought, maybe it is time for some food,” he said with a smile and reached out a hand towards the poor man who still looked embarrassed.</p><p>Javert accepted his hand and let him pull the man to his feet. Just like before, he supported Javert as they began walking towards the dining area. </p><p>"I have diverted a small amount of our fuel reserve towards the replicator, enough for one meal each. You need a portion of real food in you to heal and recov—"</p><p>"You have a replicator?!" Javert had stopped walking and Valjean turned his head to see that the man was watching him with wide eyes. </p><p>Valjean knew food replicators were rare and expensive, especially for regular folk. Only the rich near the core had them and usually bigger ones that could pop out entire feasts. Valjean’s was a small and simple model that he had tweaked himself to include some of his favorite dishes.</p><p>"Yes, I bought it for Cosette. She would frequently get sick when she was younger and a proper meal always helped her get back on her little feet. The way she would smile at the taste of real food always warmed my heart," Valjean recalled, a small smile on his face at the fond memories.</p><p>When they arrived at their destination, Valjean lowered Javert to sit on a seat by the table.</p><p>"I don’t remember the last time I had real food…" Javert said quietly and Valjean’s heart ached.</p><p>"Well, then it's about time I think. What would you like?" Valjean asked as he lifted his hand to the control panel on the machine. </p><p>“I… I don't know.” </p><p>“Hmm… Do you like venison stew? This is an old family recipe. It's one of Cosette's favorites,” Valjean asked as he looked through the options. </p><p>“I don't know. I've never had that,” Javert’s reply came and Valjean pressed the button, deciding for him.</p><p>“You'll love it!” he said as the replicator began working. "Of course, it doesn't quite have the same rich taste like the real thing and I wish I will get the opportunity to cook it for you one day, but… My home planet does not exist anymore, nor does the deer which lived in those woods… It will never be the same as my grandmother's <em>Civet de chevreuil</em> without that meat," Valjean spoke in a melancholy voice.</p><p>"I'm sorry," Javert said quietly, and looked down at his lap. "I grew up on ration bars," he added after a while, and with a pang, Valjean realized how different their younger years must have been.</p><p>Javert’s childhood had been spent on Toulon. Back then, had the young Javert even known what a tree was or how raindrops felt against one's skin? To grow up in that hot, dry environment with only the salty desert expanding in all directions to the horizon. Valjean could not imagine it. He had grown up in the lush green forests of Faverolles. He had bathed in the small blue lakes that could be found in the glades and soaked in the summer rains. It had been a marvelous childhood and he turned sad when he realized Javert had never experienced any of these things. He had not even had real food! How had the man managed to grow so tall? Maybe Javert’s thinness was a trace from a childhood of meager meals.</p><p>The ping from the replicator interrupted his thoughts and Valjean took out the tray with the two finished meals. He placed them on the table and sat down opposite Javert. The man was looking at the steaming food in front of him with deep hunger in his luminous eyes. Valjean was reminded of the first time he had set a plate in front of Cosette and how she had looked at it the same way. Suddenly, a jarring thought entered his mind and he realized that he had not even contemplated that Javert could have a family of his own! Did he have… Did he have a partner? Someone who missed him? <em>Children?</em> Valjean felt sick when he imagined those things but if they were true, he could not ignore them. </p><p>Even if it hurt, Valjean cleared his throat and asked: “I never asked… Is there anyone who would worry for you? Do you need to call someone?”</p><p>“No,” Javert answered immediately and looked down at his hand beside the plate. “I am alone in this universe.” </p><p>“You are not alone, Javert. Not anymore,” Valjean said and tentatively placed his hand over Javert’s. </p><p>He felt a bit ashamed at the relief that had filled him at Javert’s words. Valjean wanted to tell the man that he would never leave him again, but he swallowed his words. Javert had gone still and Valjean removed his hand. </p><p>“Go on then,” Valjean said, nodding at the food.</p><p>When Javert took the first bite a surprised sound escaped between his lips and he quickly took another bite, and another, and—</p><p>“Javert, slow down a bit! Chew before you swallow,” Valjean exclaimed with a chuckle. This was an exact repeat of what Cosette had done the first time.</p><p>Javert’s cheeks darkened with embarrassment, and he slowed down, chewing carefully before he let the food go down. The man’s eyes had grown wet and Valjean knew that this must be the best thing Javert had ever eaten in his life. This excited Valjean greatly; he could not wait to let the man taste all of the other dishes he had programmed into the machine! Valjean smiled and began eating from his own plate.</p><p>━━━━━━༻✦༺━━━━━━</p><p>Valjean was sitting in the pilot's chair, the <em>adamantine</em> statues placed on the control board. He had given Javert another pain-numbing shot a few hours ago, when the man had complained about the increasing ache from his ankle and ribs, and had left him to rest on the bunk bed. Now, while he waited for the others to arrive, Valjean had decided to pray. He sang quietly, each hand cupped in front of him, as he gazed out at the stars. </p><p>Suddenly, the door to the cockpit swished open and Valjean saw the reflection of Javert in the window. He stopped his prayer abruptly and rose to help the man inside, from where he leaned heavily against the wall.</p><p>“I was bored,” Javert explained as soon as he had settled down in the co-pilot's chair. </p><p>“How are you now?” Valjean asked the man.</p><p>“Better,” Javert answered, and he did indeed look more relaxed.</p><p> An almost comfortable silence descended as they both sat and watched the countless stars out the window. After a while, Javert turned to look at him.</p><p>"What language was that?" </p><p>"Oh, it’s the ancient tongue of the Uette, before the first contact. Myriel taught me the song. It is a prayer,” Valjean answered.

</p><p>"Ah… I did not know you were religious," Javert said curiously. </p><p>"I believe in a higher power, yes, but I don't truly follow that old religion. Yet, praying from time to time brings me a sort of calm. Even if I am singing to myself it still feels like I am heard… It helps me. If you want, I can teach—" </p><p>"No," Javert immediately said, making Valjean’s face fall. "I mean… I have never sung in my life, so I would probably be awful at it," he added as an explanation, then, when Valjean opened his mouth to challenge that claim Javert spoke again. </p><p>"Your voice… It's good," the man said hesitantly and blushed.</p><p>"Thank you. But, Javert, praying really helps me when my mind insists on revisiting bad memories and such. I think it would help you as well," he said, trying to convince the man who was looking unsure. "Just try once at least. Look, I will sing a line first and you can mimic me, alright?" </p><p>"Fine, but don't complain when your ears start bleeding," Javert said and turned fully towards Valjean.</p><p>Valjean cupped his hands in front of him and Javert mirrored it. He took a deep breath and started the first verse. Javert hesitantly repeated after him in an insecure voice, but Valjean smiled and encouraged him with a nod, which made the man dare to put more power into his voice. Javert's singing sounded raspy and hoarse which complimented Valjean’s more melodic tones in beautiful harmony. Javert’s eyes were wide in wonder while he sang, and Valjean had to admit their duet sounded otherworldly. The air was suddenly too hot inside the cockpit; Javert’s husky voice was affecting Valjean and he trailed off as he came to the end of the song, Javert finishing a moment later in a deep timbre. </p><p>Valjean could feel the color rising to his face. They were sitting far too close; Javert had bent forwards in his seat while he had focused on reproducing Valjean’s prayer. The man must have realized their proximity because he leaned back and turned to watch the stars again. Javert’s cheeks were dusted unmistakably darker and his hands were clenched into fists in his lap; clearly, the calming effect of praying had not worked for him. Well, Valjean was the opposite of calm at the moment so he could not blame him. </p><p>Unfortunately, with the palpable tension between them, Valjean could not help his thoughts circling back to the thing that had bothered him earlier. He was not a coward. Javert was sitting right there; this was the perfect opportunity to ask. It took several minutes for Valjean to gather enough courage. </p><p>"I… There is something I wanted to ask you about… about Aloirs,” he began with effort, unable to stop from fidgeting with his hands. Javert had turned towards him in the seat, but Valjean could not make himself look into his eyes. ”I did not find any information on the holo-net about it. I’m just curious and thought you might know!”—he met Javert’s gaze at last—”If you don't want to answer, you do not—" </p><p>Javert held up a hand and Valjean abruptly stopped his nervous rambling. </p><p>"Go on then. Ask," Javert said, crossing his arms in front of his chest.</p><p>Valjean took a steadying breath, praying that his voice would not break, and nervously said: "I've read about… about the scent, or whatever it is, that Aloir females have, that can affect Humans…"</p><p>"You mean what my mother used. The sexual pheromones." Javert's face was twisted in a disgusted frown. </p><p>Sweating and red-faced, Valjean plowed on. </p><p>"I was wondering… Do the males also…?" Valjean could not finish. His face burned and his throat was as dry as the vast salt pans of Toulon. This had been a terrible idea. </p><p>"No. Only the females have them." Javert was watching him strangely. "Why do you ask?" </p><p>"Nothing! Nothing,'' Valjean choked out, simultaneously incredibly relieved and increasingly panicked by the minute. This meant everything he felt towards Javert, every single emotion, every single urge, was completely his own… which meant… <em>Oh, Stars</em>…  </p><p>“Are you really attracted to me?” Javert asked hesitantly, and all of Valjean’s thought processes skidded to a halt. </p><p>He could not look away from the man’s ice-blue eyes and time itself seemed to cease to exist. </p><p>“I…”</p><p>Valjean jumped in his seat as the alarm for proximity alert blared, warning for an unknown ship’s imminent and close-by exit from hyperspace. They had both turned towards the window, and one second later a freighter materialized a couple of hundred meters in front of them. Behind the other ship’s viewport, Valjean could spot the tiny heads of the girls that sat in the cockpit and one of them stood up and began waving with her hand. Valjean waved back and as they came closer he recognized that it was Cosette by the color of her hair. They were hailing Valjean’s ship and he accepted the signal.</p><p>“Hello, Monsieur! How is it going? I’m bringing you in,” Éponine’s voice called.  </p><p>“Great! See you soon!” Valjean answered, and the ship trembled as the tractor beam locked on to them.</p><p>They were slowly being pulled towards the other freighter and soon they were jolted a bit in their seats when they docked. Valjean pressed some buttons on the control board and the part of their own hull, that had connected to the larger ship, opened to create a doorway, sealing the outer borders to create a short corridor into the other ship. Then Éponine must have jumped their own ship to hyperspace, and because the two ships had merged into one, they followed.</p><p>“You want to come?” Valjean asked as he stood up.</p><p>Javert had tensed up in his seat and was watching the stars streak by, but he nodded after a while and Valjean held out an arm for him to take.</p><p>They arrived at the common area, where the door was, and at the same moment, voices were heard from the corridor that led into the other ship. Javert had let go of him and limped to lean against the wall. Just then, someone shouted <em>“Papa!!”</em> and Valjean’s breath was knocked out of him when Cosette attacked him with a bone-crushing hug. The girl always forgot her own strength, and she was actually stronger than Valjean! The muscles of her upper body were well developed, a remnant of her Uette blood, to ensure the strength needed to bear the wings she did not possess. The result was that being in Cosette’s embrace felt like you were slowly squished to death. </p><p>“Coss…htt…” Valjean wheezed out. </p><p>“Oh! Sorry!!” The girl let go of him in an instant, looking sheepish. </p><p>“It’s fine. I’m glad you are okay!” Valjean said, after regaining his breath. “You are not hurt?” </p><p>“I am fine! Don’t worry. Are you?”</p><p>“Yeah. Perfectly fine,” Valjean answered, relieved that his daughter had escaped unharmed.</p><p>“Monsieur, looking good!” came Èponine’s voice as she stepped out the doorway.</p><p>Valjean looked up to see her eyes stray towards Javert. She looked back towards him and nodded as if saying<em> “Not bad”</em>. Valjean did not have time to answer because his attention had drifted to the boy that came to stand beside Éponine. <em>This one must be Marius</em>, Valjean thought. Marius was looking worse off than the others; he had a cut over his brow and his left arm was wrapped up in a sling.</p><p>“Marius Pontmercy,” the boy introduced himself, bowing slightly.</p><p>“Ultime Fauchelevent,” Valjean returned and saw out of the corner of his eye how Javert tensed up upon hearing his false name for the first time.</p><p>Cosette had noticed the stranger against the wall and was sending Valjean questioning glances, as if prompting him to start introductions. Valjean cleared his throat, gesturing towards Javert. </p><p>“This is…” Then he paused, not knowing if he should introduce him as an Inspector or not.</p><p>“Javert,” the man answered for him, bowing to each person in turn, but Valjean saw him freeze when he came to the boy. </p><p>Both Marius and Javert looked like they had been struck by lightning; their mouths hung open and their eyes bulged.</p><p>"You!! Where are my pistols?!" Javert shouted and limped forward.</p><p>"Inspector!" Marius squeaked out.</p><p>"You two know each other?" Valjean asked in surprise.</p><p>"He owes me two plasma pistols! He was supposed to shoot to alert me when Patron-Minette commenced the transaction. They were smuggling tons of <em>Épice</em> on Gorbeau and this <em>booby”</em>—he gestured towards Marius—“had tipped me off. Well, he was useless anyway, just as I'd guessed! Didn't fire a single shot and fled with my pistols!" </p><p>"I-I have them still, Inspector!” the poor boy stammered. “Or one of them at least… I dropped the other one when I was shot in the arm." He pulled out the weapon from the holster on his hip and stretched it out towards Javert. </p><p>Before Javert could reach for it, Valjean snatched it hastily from Marius's trembling hand. Silence fell upon the room, until Valjean broke it.</p><p>"This is a fine weapon. It’s plated with <em>adamantine</em>. How did you come by this?" Valjean asked Javert, deliberately making his voice sound lighter, while he admired the beautiful pistol in his hand. </p><p>"It was a gift, from my mentor." Javert’s hand was still outstretched, fingers twitching impatiently. </p><p>"I will hold on to it for the moment," Valjean said, holding Javert’s gaze as he placed the pistol in his own holster. </p><p>Javert’s eyes were flashing and they exchanged a silent argument, but Valjean stood firm and, at last, the man's arm fell to his side. </p><p>"Alright…" he said, shoulders drooping.</p><p>Marius, Cosette, and Éponine were exchanging curious glances with each other. Éponine turned to Valjean and her eyebrow rose in a silent question. Valjean shook his head, but he knew the girl would not give up and was going to ask him about it later. The girl in question stepped forth and addressed Javert.</p><p>“I’m Éponine,” she said, crossing her arms and looking at the man intensely. </p><p>"Éponine… I know that name from somewhere. I have seen you before, haven’t I?” Javert shut his eyes, deep in thought, but after a short period of time, they opened wide. “You are Thénardier's brat!" he exclaimed, pointing at the girl.</p><p>"And I know you, Inspector. You are the one responsible for putting my parents behind bars and disbanding Patron-Minette. I should thank you. If you hadn't done that, I would never have had an opportunity to get out and start a new honest life. Thanks to you my parents rot in jail and I am free! So, thank you," Éponine said with a smile.</p><p>"Umm…” Javert mumbled, looking flustered and sending a glance at Valjean. “You are welcome?" he added.</p><p>Valjean was surprised at this information. He had known that the girl had been involved in criminal activities before coming to Paris, but he would never have guessed she had been part of that infamous smuggler ring and that she was Thénardier’s daughter! The girl in question caught his gaze, nodded her head towards Javert, and winked. What was that supposed to mean? Could she really be that perceptive? Valjean hoped he was not that easy to read and that the heat which had risen to his face was not so noticeable. </p><p>"Inspector, I like your hair," Éponine said, and judging by the knowing look she sent Valjean, his hopes had not been fulfilled.</p><p>"Um… Thank you…" Javert had blushed from neck to hairline, and he kept playing with the end of his braid. </p><p>Éponine smiled mischievously towards Valjean, but Marius and Cosette both looked clueless. Bless his daughter's obliviousness! </p><p>“My name is Cosette Fauchelevent! I’m his daughter,” Cosette said and Valjean turned to see that she had stepped up to Javert to introduce herself.</p><p>With rising apprehension, Valjean watched how Javert froze. The man had grown pale and Valjean began to step forth in order to intervene but Javert managed to open his mouth before Valjean had taken a single step.</p><p>"Don't you remember me, Mademoiselle?" Javert said hoarsely. </p><p>"No, should I…?" Cosette asked, confused. </p><p>"I was the one who killed your m— your mother," Javert confessed, voice wavering, but he was standing stoically in front of the girl, awaiting judgment. </p><p>Cosette's eyes widened and she looked more closely at Javert's face. Something must have triggered a memory because, suddenly, her face twisted in anger and in an unrecognizable voice she shouted: <em>"YOU!!"</em> </p><p>Before Valjean could blink, Cosette was upon Javert and had struck him hard across the face. Three more slaps had landed before Valjean reached them at last and caught Cosette's arm mid-air, as it was about to deliver another blow to the man, who was now on his knees. Cosette had forgotten her strength again. </p><p>"COSETTE!!" Valjean shouted at his daughter, who was breathing harshly, face darkened with fury. He gestured at Javert on the ground. "Cosette, look at him!!"</p><p>Cosette blinked and looked down at the man, who was weeping openly. The left side of his face was red and swollen, and the cut on his cheek had reopened, bleeding sluggishly. His whole body shook and he kept repeating <em>"I'm sorry… I'm sorry…"</em> brokenly in between sobs. Cosette looked at her hand and the dark liquid that had smeared on her palm. She wrenched her arm from Valjean's grip with considerable force and strode away with angry steps. Éponine nodded grimly towards Valjean and followed Cosette, dragging a stunned Marius after her. Valjean kneeled beside Javert who was now crying into his hands. </p><p>"Javert… I'm sorry. I should've anticipated her reaction and intervened—" </p><p>"No! I-I deserve it and worse!" the man sobbed. </p><p>Valjean sighed and wrapped an arm around Javert's shoulders. He felt how the man instantly relaxed in his grip and turned his face to cry into his chest. Valjean guessed the front of his jacket would never dry if it continued like this. Maybe he would finally be forced to change out of this yellow tail-jacket as so many had begged him to do before.</p><p>━━━━━━༻✦༺━━━━━━</p><p>The door to the sleeping quarters opened with a swish and Javert jerked his head up at the sound. Valjean had left him here a while ago to speak to the others, and now, the man's daughter was standing in the doorway! He lowered his right arm that had been pressing the cold-pack to his aching cheek. Cosette carefully stepped inside and came to a stop, standing in the middle of the small room. </p><p>Javert could not help it; his mouth opened and he began talking in a hoarse voice: "I'm sorry! I-I deserve everything you d-do to me! I left you m-motherless. I am a monst—" </p><p>"Stop!!" Cosette shouted and Javert flinched, swallowing the next words he had been about to sprout. </p><p>The girl sighed and took the stool from the wall, placing it by the bed to sit down in front of Javert.</p><p>"Yes, you caused the death of my mother! I remember it vaguely. You have been the subject of so many of my nightmares. You were cruel, and evil, and I hated you with passion!!" </p><p>Javert could not look away from her eyes which shone with anger. It was right that she hated him. It was just. </p><p>"You should hate me. It is your right. It would be within your right to k-kill me, as well—" Javert spoke, but the girl held up a hand to stop him. </p><p>"Let me finish. And don’t you dare ask me to kill you! That wouldn’t be justice. It would be heartless! I am quick to anger and, although I do not regret it, I probably shouldn't have raised my hand against you. But I will not harm you anymore. I can see you regret what you did and I spoke with Papa. You are filled with remorse? You want to change? Alright. I cannot punish you for what you did when you wanted to do worse to yourself,”—Javert’s eyes widened—“Yes, I know about that. I am very angry with you and I cannot forgive you yet, but I have listened to Papa and I trust him. I am willing to give you a chance." </p><p>Javert could hardly breathe. The girl stood up, putting the chair back. </p><p>"Do not waste it," she said, an undertone of threat in her voice. “Also, never try to do something like <em>that</em> again! I can see that Papa cares for you somehow. Don’t you ever dare hurt him like that or I will make you regret it!” she finished, cracking her knuckles, then she finally stepped out of the room.</p><p>Javert was left sitting on the bed, mind reeling. Valjean’s daughter, the daughter of the woman who he had murdered, had just given him a chance to prove himself. To prove that he could change, just like Valjean had done. But she had also said that Valjean cared for him. Was it true? Did he feel a quarter of what Javert felt for him? Yes, Javert had had time to analyze his own mind and had come to a frightening conclusion: Valjean had crept into his soul and had settled into his heart. Javert suspected this had been the case for decades. Why else had the man’s flight from Toulon felt like a personal betrayal? Why else had it felt like Valjean had wrenched out his heart and left him bleeding on the sand? He had buried those emotions for so long and had shut himself off from feeling anything for years. But they had been there, always. Something had sparked between them on that fateful first day they met on Toulon, and that small flicker of fire had remained burning slowly throughout the years, until Valjean saved him on June, which had ignited it to a full inferno. Javert was broken and lost, but with the help of Valjean, he had regained a glimmer of hope that he could get past this and grow to become a better man. Cosette did not have to worry; he was not going to be so ready to resign from life like that again. No, Javert wanted to live so that he could right his wrongs. And how could he cast away the life Valjean had saved twice over? He owed the man to try to live. And if there was even the smallest possibility that Valjean felt for him similarly, then he would be loath to miss his chance!</p><p>━━━━━━༻✦༺━━━━━━</p><p>Valjean sat in the common area, speaking with Marius and Éponine when Cosette returned. Earlier, he had spoken with her about Javert and told her the whole story; about his own past, about both Faverolles and Toulon, about the young guard named Javert, and the manner of his own escape, about what happened on June and later on board the ship. He told her everything, even if he shook with fear while he did it. His daughter did not even hesitate to embrace him when he cried! She did not turn away in disgust at having been adopted by a former convict. She was even offended that Valjean had been afraid of such a thing occurring! She told him that she knew Valjean had had a secret, and with how they had kept moving from planet to planet, she had guessed he must have been hiding a dark past. Cosette also told him that, besides her mother’s fate, he was the reason she had joined the rebels. She had wanted to prevent anyone else from falling into the despair that broke her mother and also to bring justice to the galaxy so that good people like Valjean could live a free and happy life without having to fear discovery and be returned to slavery. Valjean had been moved by this, and although he had berated her for being so reckless, he secretly admired her devotion to justice. It reminded him of a guard he knew back on Toulon… </p><p>Cosette had a quick temper but she was kind at heart and very understanding. She trusted him and had accepted that Javert was not the same man he had been that day, and that the death of her mother had ultimately been an unfortunate accident; the man had unthinkingly let her go and with her weak state she had fallen in such an unlucky angle that when her head struck against the crate it broke her neck. Valjean knew in his heart that Javert would never murder someone in cold blood and he had told Cosette this. After their conversation, the girl had gone to speak with Javert, and now she was back. Cosette sat down on the lounge beside Marius and nodded towards Valjean when he sent her a questioning look. </p><p>“As I was saying,” Éponine said, continuing from where she had been cut off when the girl had walked in. “they were full-on rioting in the streets. It looked like the whole population of Paris was out there! The Gendarmes were trying to control it but I don’t think they managed.”</p><p>“What could have happened? Do you think they heard about what happened on June?” Valjean asked.</p><p>“Did you not see the holo-broadcast?” Cosette asked him, surprised.</p><p>“What broadcast?”</p><p>“Enjolras… He sacrificed himself to send out a message. We watched it on the ship before we escaped June. The holo-net was shut down after that but the broadcast must have reached across all arms of the galaxy before it cut off,” Éponine said.</p><p>“Grantaire was with him too,” Marius spoke, his voice breaking. “Courf and Ferre and the others died when the building collapsed but Enjolras and R were alive. I begged them to come with us, but Enjolras refused!”—tears had sprung to his eyes—”He told me the people of the galaxy deserved to know what had happened here. Then he climbed up the communications tower and Grantaire followed. They—” The boy let out a sob and could not seem to finish his speech.</p><p>“They must have hacked into the emergency broadcast system of the Police to send out a live feed to all screens throughout the Rims,” Éponine spoke, continuing from where Marius had left off. “We saw the message. He spoke about what the Gendarmes did, about the tyranny we lived under, and how we would never be free until we overthrew Hugo. It was a powerful speech. I understand how the people of Paris were moved by it,”—she sighed—”Then they bombed the tower and…” Éponine trailed off and Marius let out another sob.</p><p>“The holo cut off. The last image we saw was Enjolras spreading his red wings behind him and lifting his and Grantaire's clasped hands,” Cosette finished, a tear trailing down her cheek.</p><p>The poor boy was crying while he hid his face in his free hand. </p><p>“I am so sorry for your losses,” Valjean said to the mourning youths. “If what you say is true, that the message was delivered to all, do you think such riots have broken out on other planets too?” Valjean asked them to change the subject into something more hopeful.</p><p>“You think so?” Cosette asked.</p><p>“I don’t know. But we must hope the Gendarmes are unable to stop them, otherwise, it will be a bloodbath…” Valjean said and shuddered at the old traumatic memories that rose.</p><p>“It won’t be like that,” Cosette said reassuringly, and then she turned to comfort the distraught boy. </p><p>After a while, they decided to move into the main ship so that they could sit in the cockpit and ready themselves for the arrival at Paris. Valjean fetched Javert and supported him as they walked through the unknown corridors of the other vehicle. It was larger than his own and he realized that it must have been the ship of the <em>Les Amis de l'ABC</em>, the sole remaining members being his daughter and Marius. It must be terrible for them to walk through these halls when they knew their friends were gone forever. As they passed the communal rooms, Valjean spotted posters, fliers, a half-finished game of cards and several trinkets that lay scattered on the tables; belongings of people that were now no more than ghosts. He hurried his steps and helped Javert along until they at last reached the cockpit. There were a total of six seats: two adjacent ones behind the pilot’s chair and two similar ones behind the co-pilot’s chair. Éponine had taken the pilot’s seat and Marius sat behind her. Valjean helped Javert into the seat behind Cosette and settled down beside him. Thus, they sat gazing out of the viewport, in silence. </p><p>━━━━━━༻✦༺━━━━━━</p><p>A few hours later, they arrived over Paris. The air was tense in the cockpit as Éponine steered the ship down to enter the atmosphere. As soon as they reached the clouds, they all heard the sounds of fire and tensed up in their seats. Out of the corner of his eye, Valjean noticed how Javert flinched at the sounds. He placed a comforting hand over his, which was holding the armrest between them in a white-knuckled grip. He gently pried the fingers free and turned Javert's hand so he could hold it. The man instantly gripped his larger hand and held on for dear life. </p><p>The ship descended past the clouds and as the view out the window cleared, the sight that met them made them all gasp out in shock. Valjean realized, with astonishment, that the sounds of fire did not come from a battle, at all, but was instead the explosions of fireworks! Colorful bursts lit up the sky as Éponine flew them down, near enough to get a view of the streets. They were full to the brim with people, but not in a riot. No, they were celebrating! People were dancing and singing! <em>What had happened while they were gone?!</em> Valjean turned to see Javert looking at him searchingly. Valjean could only shrug at Javert's silent question; he did not know what was going on either.</p><p>Éponine landed the ship in an empty spot by the port, and the youths hurried to get out to discover what they had missed. They ran out of the cockpit while Valjean and Javert followed at a slower pace, mainly due to Javert’s limp. They had not spoken yet, and Valjean did not dare break the silence, lest it would jinx something. His heart had filled with such hope that he was afraid of having it dashed.</p><p>When the two old men reached the hall, Valjean saw through the open doors that the celebrations were close to the ship, and his daughter and the other two were speaking to a dancing woman. Valjean could not hear what she said, even if she screamed over the loud cheering, but whatever it was it must have been great because Cosette grabbed both Éponine and Marius with each of her arms, lifted them off the ground, and spun them in circles. They were all laughing in joy and disbelief.</p><p>Then, Cosette spotted them inside the ship and after letting go of the other two, she rushed up the ramp, a huge grin splitting her face. When she was inside, she gripped Valjean’s arms and excitedly relayed the news.  </p><p>"He is gone, Papa!! It is over! Enjolras did it!! His message triggered people across all the Rims to rise against the Empire! People even took their own ships and flew to the core and attacked the capital! The <em>Empereur</em> is gone, and his followers have surrendered!! We are free, Papa!! You are free!!" </p><p>Valjean stared at her in shock, and as Cosette hurried to get back to her friends, he could finally hear the chanting of the crowd: <em>"Long live the Republic!! Long live the Republic!!"</em> </p><p>He was overwhelmed. Was it truly over? Was he free? It felt like a great burden had lifted off his shoulders. He turned towards Javert and saw that the man’s mouth was open in shock. He looked so lost and fragile, and Valjean felt so many emotions he could not name. At last, he was free!! They were free!! Everything was going to be alright! </p><p>Before he had time to process his own actions, Valjean grabbed Javert by the front of his jumpsuit, pulled the taller man down, and kissed him right on the mouth. Javert made a small sound of surprise, and his whole body went rigid. Just like that, the bruising kiss was over, and Valjean stepped back, letting go of Javert's clothes. His mind caught up with what he had done, and he stared at Javert with growing horror. The other man was staring back, his eyes wide, and he moved a hand up, tentatively touching his lips with his fingertips. </p><p>"You… You kissed me…" Javert sounded breathless. </p><p>There was something vulnerable in his eyes. Valjean stood frozen and could only nod as an answer. The man let out a shaky exhale. </p><p>"Do it again," he whispered. It had sounded like a question.</p><p>Valjean's heart was beating too fast, and he feared it was going to burst right out of his chest. He stepped close again and carefully tilted Javert's head down to capture his lips. This time the kiss was slow, and it took only a second for Javert to begin to move, hesitantly returning it. His lips were so soft, impossibly soft, and Valjean put one hand on his narrow waist to pull him even closer. Javert let out a soft sound at that and melted into Valjean's arms, forcing him to take the taller man’s negligible weight. Valjean did not want it to end, but they had to part after a while to breathe. Distantly, he could hear the sounds of celebration, and Javert’s face lit up with color from the fireworks that exploded in the sky. Valjean could not help the wide smile that stretched his face and hurt his cheeks. Javert's swollen lips twitched, and then he was smiling as well. Objectively, it was a terrifying thing, all gums, and rows of sharp teeth, but it was a real smile, and to Valjean, it was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>The End!</p><p>Next chapter is a short epilogue.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Epilogue</h2></a>
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    <p>Valjean was preparing dinner in the small kitchen of their home. Cosette, Marius, and Éponine were visiting today, and he was cooking Cosette's and, of course, Javert’s favorite dish. He hoped the children would like it as well, but he had been warned they could be picky eaters. His daughter, together with the other two, had adopted a pair of twins who had been orphaned as newborns during the Rebellion, and thus, Valjean, and inevitably Javert, had become grandparents! They had some sort of arrangement, the three of them. Valjean did not fully understand it, to be honest, but he had come to discover that love was an unfathomable and unpredictable thing. Love did what love wanted, and how fantastic for his grandchildren to have three loving parents instead of two! Valjean smiled as he lowered the heat to let the stew simmer. </p><p>"Papa! Papa, come quick! Out in the garden!" Cosette called out to him, from the back-door.</p><p>As he walked out of the kitchen and stepped out onto the porch the sight that met him made him pause and wish for a holo-recorder. Cosette must have realized the direction of his thoughts because she got his attention and wiggled the recorder in her hand. <em>"I got it,"</em> she mouthed and walked up to film the scene to forever be immortalized on a holo-frame on the wall. </p><p>Javert was sitting cross-legged in the middle of the garden, his graying hair filled with flowers, while their grandchildren were deep in concentration as they fiddled with his hair. Valjean must have let out a sound because Javert suddenly looked up. </p><p>"Jean, you must save me! Look, they have turned me into a doll!!" Javert complained in half-hearted despair, gesturing at himself.</p><p>Valjean could not stop laughing. Javert looked ridiculous with one messy braid hanging from the top of his head and another smaller one sticking out from behind his ear. Fantine stood back to admire her handiwork and clapped her hands, pleased with herself. Gavroche (who was named after the young boy who had died on June and who they had later learned had been the estranged younger brother of Éponine!) was still standing in Javert's lap, trying to fasten a bow to tie off the smaller braid. Succeeding, he reached and took hold of Javert's pointy ears, pulling at them and shouting: <em>"PWETTY!!"</em> </p><p>Valjean laughed so hard tears ran down his cheeks. The glare Javert sent him could have burnt the whole house down to cinders. As he wiped his tears, Valjean noticed that Javert had pulled the toddlers close and was whispering conspiratorially into their ears, while simultaneously sending sly glances in his direction. The children turned around and watched Valjean with wide mischievous grins. <em>He had a bad feeling about this…</em></p><p>"Now!" Javert ordered, and the children launched themselves at Valjean and started tickling him mercilessly! Valjean began laughing again, uncontrollably, as he rolled on the grass and tried to escape the torture. </p><p>"Hah! Do you regret laughing at me now Grandpapa?" Javert sounded triumphant.</p><p>"AHAH— P-PEACE— AHAHAH— MERCY!!" He cursed the day Javert had discovered that he was ticklish.</p><p>"Alright, you can stop now!" Javert informed the toddlers who fell on top of Valjean in a heap on the wet grass. </p><p>When Valjean raised his head, he saw that Javert was watching him with a smug, toothed smile, and the combination with his ridiculous hair made the whole picture so comical, that Valjean could not keep himself from descending into another fit of guffaws. His stomach was hurting, and he could not recall any previous time in his life where he had laughed this much. </p><p>The light of the suns was blocked out by a shape, and Valjean opened his eyes to see that Javert was leaning over them, so he did the only logical thing he could think of; he took hold of the man’s shirt and pulled him down to join the cuddle pile, and Javert followed without protest. </p><p>This. This was true happiness. Valjean had never thought he would have reached this, but here he was, lying on the grass beside his husband and having joined in with the childish antics of his grandchildren. This was bliss, and Valjean would not trade it for any riches in the galaxy.</p><p>Later, after the twins had been tucked into their beds and their parents retired for the night, Javert and Valjean sat on the steps of the porch, looking up at a sky full of glittering stars. Valjean tilted his head to rest against Javert’s shoulder and squeezed the hand he held tightly. Javert turned to look at him with his luminous eyes. </p><p>"Jean… I… Thank you. Thank you for everything you have given me. I don't des—" </p><p>Valjean put a finger against the man’s lips to silence him. </p><p>"You deserve everything and more, Javert, and I will keep saying so until you accept it," he said, moving his hand to cup Javert’s face. "<em>Ma lumière d'étoile</em>*, living the rest of my days with you by my side… It will be the happiest years of my life." </p><p>"I… I love you, Jean," Javert said as he leaned into the hand that cradled his cheek.</p><p>Valjean smiled, and as he stretched forward to place a soft kiss on his husband's lips, he thought back to that first meeting of the young guard and the convict and how 32 years later they were now married with grandchildren! The universe truly worked in mysterious ways. It was almost like it had been inevitable, like their souls were tied and even in another lifetime and under different circumstances they would still have met, some strange force always pulling them to one another until they came to stand upon the escarpment of the infinite, and together fell, caught in that fateful dance of love…
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  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p><em>ma lumière d'étoile</em> = my starlight</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
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